When university lecturers will go on strike in February 2023

More than 70,000 staff at 150 universities across the UK will strike for 18 days between February and March in disputes over pay, conditions and pensions.

The action, called by the University and College Union (UCU), will be the latest in a long list of strikes that have affected everything from rail services and Royal Mail deliveries to NHS nurses, ambulance drivers and teachers since last year.

Here is everything you need to know about the strike, and which universities will be affected.

When are the university strikes?

The union walked out on Wednesday 1 February, and will also strike on the following dates:

• Thursday 9 February
• Friday 10 February
• Tuesday 14 February
• Wednesday 15 February
• Thursday 16 February
• Tuesday 21 February
• Wednesday 22 February
• Thursday 23 February
• Monday 27 February
• Tuesday 28 February
• Wednesday 1 March
• Thursday 2 March
• Thursday 16 March
• Friday 17 March
• Monday 20 March
• Tuesday 21 March
• Wednesday 22 March

The action will include academics, librarians and other university staff.

UCU is also reballoting its 70,000 members at the 150 universities involved in the dispute to extend the union’s mandate and allow staff to take further action through the rest of the academic year.

Universities affected by strike action

• Aberdeen, The University of
• Abertay University
• Aberystwyth University
• Anglia Ruskin University
• Arts University Bournemouth
• Aston University
• Bangor University
• Bath Spa University
• Bath, University of
• Bedfordshire, University of
• Birkbeck, University of London
• Birmingham, The University of
• Bishop Grosseteste University
• Bolton, The University of
• Bournemouth University
• Bradford, University of
• Brighton, University of
• Bristol, University of
• Brunel University
• Buckinghamshire New University
• Cambridge, University of
• Canterbury Christ Church University
• Cardiff Metropolitan University
• Cardiff University
• Central Lancashire, University of
• Chester, University of
• Chichester, University of
• City, University of London
• Courtauld Institute of Art
• Coventry University
• Cranfield University
• Cumbria, University of
• De Montfort University
• Derby, University of
• Dundee, The University of
• Durham University
• East Anglia, University of
• East London, University of
• Edge Hill University
• Edinburgh Napier University
• Edinburgh, University of
• Essex, University of
• Exeter, University of
• Falmouth University
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• Glasgow School of Art
• Glasgow, University of
• Gloucestershire, University of
• Goldsmiths, University of London
• Greenwich, University of
• Harper Adams University
• Heriot-Watt University
• Hertfordshire, University of
• Huddersfield, The University of
• Hull, The University of
• Imperial College London
• Institute of Development Studies (IDS)
• Keele University
• Kent, The University of
• King’s College London
• Kingston University
• Lancaster, University of
• Leeds Arts University
• Leeds Beckett University
• Leeds Trinity University
• Leeds, The University of
• Leicester, University of
• Lincoln, University of
• Liverpool Hope University
• Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA)
• Liverpool John Moores University
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
• Liverpool, University of
• London Metropolitan University
• London School of Economics
• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• London South Bank University
• Loughborough University
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Manchester, The University of
• Middlesex University
• Newcastle University
• Newman University
• Northampton, The University of
• Northumbria University
• Norwich University of the Arts
• Nottingham, The University of
• Open University
• Oxford Brookes University
• Oxford, University of
• Plymouth Marjon University
• Plymouth, University of
• Portsmouth, University of
• Queen Margaret University
• Queen Mary, University of London
• Queen’s University Belfast
• Reading, University of
• Robert Gordon University
• Roehampton University
• Rose Bruford College
• Royal Academy of Music
• Royal Agricultural University
• Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
• Royal College of Art
• Royal College of Music
• Royal Holloway, University of London
• Royal Northern College of Music
• Royal Veterinary College, University of London
• Salford, The University of
• Sams at University of the Highlands and Islands
• Senate House, University of London
• Sheffield Hallam University
• Sheffield, The University of
• Soas, University of London
• Solent University
• South Wales, University of
• Southampton, University of
• St Andrews, University of
• St George’s, University of London
• St Mary’s University College, Belfast
• St Mary’s University, Twickenham
• Staffordshire University
• Stirling, The University of
• Stranmillis University College
• Strathclyde, University of
• Suffolk, University of
• Sunderland, University of
• Surrey, University of
• Sussex, University of
• Swansea University
• Teesside, University of
• Trinity Laban
• University for the Creative Arts
• Ulster University
• University College Birmingham
• University College London
• University of the Arts London
• University of Wales Trinity Saint David
• Warwick, University of
• West London, University of
• West of England, University of the
• West of Scotland, University of the
• Westminster, University of
• Winchester, The University of
• Wolverhampton, University of
• Worcester, University of
• Wrexham Glyndwr University
• Writtle University College
• York, University of
• York St John University

Why are university staff striking?

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which represents university employers, made the UCU a pay offer worth 4-5 per cent, which the union has said is insufficient.

In the pension dispute, the UCU is demanding employers revoke the cuts and restore benefits.

The union says the package of cuts made last year will see the average member lose 35 per cent from their guaranteed future retirement income, and for those at the beginning of their careers, the losses are in the hundreds of thousands of pounds.

UCU general secretary, Jo Grady, said: “The university sector in the UK has over £40bn sitting in reserves, but instead of using that vast wealth to deliver a cost of living pay rise and reverse devastating pension cuts, university vice-chancellors would rather force staff to take strike action and see campuses shut down.

“There is a clear route out of these disputes, but at present vice-chancellors lack the political will to take it. They are failing staff who want to get back to work, and students who want to get on with their studies.

“Students understand that staff working conditions are their learning conditions and we are proud to have their support in these disputes. A system that relies on low pay and the rampant use of insecure contracts is a system which fails everyone.

“A resolution can be reached, but that is in the gift of university vice-chancellors who need to urgently reassess their priorities and deliver a deal that benefits staff and students.”

The UCEA says any increase in pay “puts jobs at risk”, and has defended its pay offer.