Tomorrow they will be supported by student activists protesting against government plans to enable universities to charge top-up fees.
The strike at Manchester University, UMIST, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University has been called by the Association of University Teachersin response to a pay offer of 6.44 per cent over two years. Union leaders say this barely keeps pace with inflation and comes with `unacceptable' conditions.
At Manchester University, a number of departmental open days have had to be postponed as well as lectures and seminars. AUT members have also vowed not to set final examinations and not to mark examinations or assessed work.
The industrial action was condemned in a joint statement by UMIST vice chancellor Prof John Garside and Manchester University vice chancellor Sir Martin Harris. They said: "It is extremely regrettable that staff have chosen to take this course of action and deprive students of their education.
"A sizeable number of staff did not vote for strike action, and we will do everything that we can to ensure that disruption is minimal, and that the business of both universities can proceed as normally as possible, and safely." Tweet
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We now know where the studnets get it from.
What about the clearners etc that would kill for the rise they are getting ?
What the VC failed to point out is that the majority of those who voted on whether to strike or not were in favour of industrial action. It is not a decision taken easily. At the end of the day, the main call from the AUT is to re-open negotiations - it's not the lecturers but UCEA that are being awkward!
Dear "Tax payer", the unions representing the cleaners etc have already accepted the paydeal and are enjoying the benefits; the new pay framework should benefit most manual staff in universities as it should recognise their importance to the university sector. Many AUT members however will not gain anything from the proposed pay framework, and in some universities where it has already been implemented some lecturers and related staff have actually lost money, and all staff may lose money in the long-term compared to the current situation. That is part of the reason for the strike.
University lecturers currently get paid less than infant school teachers. The average starting wage in the city of London for a graduate is more than a head of department/professor gets paid. If you don't think this is a problem then remember that most of your jobs depend upon the abilities and innovation of researchers in Universities to create new technologies. If one of your relatives, or yourself, falls ill then it is only the dedication of university researchers, in developing new drugs and proceedures that will save you. Perhaps if all university staff were paid a slightly less disgraceful wage (e.g. more than double the 18k a fully qualified researcher gets)
then there would be less suffering in this world.
Taxpayer, whilst cleaners perform a vital job, they have not spent years studying for very very little money to get where they are. Lecturers have dedicated their lives to pushing forward the frontiers of knowledge and passing on this knowledge to thousands of people who will in turn challenge the frontiers of knowledge. Society will not progress without them. Industry would suffer without the technology and knowledge that academia provides.
"Manchester University vice chancellor Sir Martin Harris said: "It is extremely regrettable that staff have chosen to take this course of action and deprive students of their education."
It is somewhat remiss of Professor Harris to fail to mention his 13.6% salary increase!