Universities have been slowly clambering back towards normality, but a new wave of strikes may put this in jeopardy.
Staff from almost 60 universities have voted for strike action due to issues with pensions, pay and working conditions. Problems also stem from the casualisation of teaching work and inequalities in pay across staff roles.
Action is likely to start before Christmas and extend into January 2022.
This development will undoubtedly leave many students feeling dejected about the continuity of their studies, given the turbulent events of the past two years. Yet it is in students’ interests that staff are fairly treated at work, leaving not just teachers with low morale about the situation.
The negative impact of strikes on students is irrefutable, but lecturers say that ideally they wouldn’t have to cause disruption to their learning. This begs the question why staff continue to feel forced to strike on what’s becoming almost a yearly basis.
Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/07/the-guardian-view-on-university-strikes-another-winter-of-campus-discontent
