University strike: Queen's staff unlikely to join widespread action

Staff at Queen's University of Belfast are unlikely to join a week of widespread university strikes.

But Ulster University, Stranmillis University College and St Mary's University College will be affected.

The University and College Union (UCU) has said members at 140 universities in the UK will walkout from Monday 25 to Friday 29 September.

It is the latest industrial action by the union in a long-running dispute over pay and working conditions.

However, Queen's University is not among the 140 institutions named by the union where strike action will take place.

BBC News NI understands that may be related to an agreement between UCU members at QUB and Queen's management which ended a marking and assessment boycott at the university.

Hundreds of Students were awarded a degree with a title or result at Queen's last year.

That agreement in June came after hundreds of students at the university graduated without having their final degree results confirmed.

Queen's was subsequently suspended from membership of the umbrella body for university employers.

The Universities and Colleges Employers' Association (UCEA) said it had taken the action because QUB had made a local agreement on pay.

The settlement between the university and UCU members at Queen's was the first of its kind across the UK.

The agreement included a cost-of-living supplement equivalent to 2% of pay for all QUB staff except those on the senior salary scheme.

The UCU has now ended its marking boycott at all UK universities but has given dates for new strike action.

'Maximum damage'

Announcing the latest strikes, the UCU general secretary Jo Grady said the union had been left with "no option but to strike during the start of term because our members refuse to stand by while pay is eroded and staff are shunted onto gig-economy contracts".

She also said that UCEA had imposed a pay award for 2023-24 worth just 5% for most UCU members, "even though they overwhelmingly voted to reject it".

But the UCEA Chief Executive Raj Jethwa said UCU was "attempting to inflict maximum damage" by calling strike action for late September.

"UCU is intentionally seeking to target the important welcome weeks which many institutions provide during this vital time for new students," he said.

"It is disappointing that UCU seeks to disrupt welcome weeks instead of providing support for new students."