LECTURERS at 58 British universities are set to launch three days of strike action today over pay, conditions and pensions.

Pickets will be in action from Scotland to southern England as members of the University and College Union (UCU) walk out.

A further 42 universities are balloting on action, meaning that up to 100 institutions could soon be hit by strikes.

The UCU said strike action will be escalated in the new year if the employers, represented by Universities UK and the University and Colleges Employers Association, do not give ground.

The union said that lecturers’ pay has fallen in value by 20 per cent after 12 years of below-inflation pay rises, that pensions are set to be cut by up to 36 per cent, and that 17 per cent of staff are suffering “a crisis of work-related stress” and depression.

The lecturers also want an end to insecure, short-term contracts. Almost 50 per cent of university and college lecturers currently in work, nearly 90,000 staff, do not know whether they will be employed for the following term.

Short-term contracted lecturers are paid little more than unemployment benefit for the hours they work while university vice-chancellors enjoy six-figure salaries, the UCU said.

The Office for Students, the independent regulator for higher education, has reported that six university vice-chancellors in England are paid salaries of £500,000 or more, and that the average salary for the post is about £270,000.

The lecturers want an end to gender, race and disability pay gaps, which the UCU said stand at 15 per cent, 17 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. 

The lecturers also want to see pensions cuts withdrawn, and a £2,500 pay increase implemented.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said the employers have shown “little interest” in addressing the issues.

“The truth is that staff are asking for the bare minimum,” she said.

“But sadly, the only time vice-chancellors and principals seem to listen is when staff take action, and those leading our universities should not underestimate their determination to change this sector for the better.

“If they continue to ignore the modest demands of staff, then we will be forced to take further industrial action in the new year, which even more branches will join.”

Ms Grady thanked students for their support and said: “They understand that staff working conditions are student learning conditions.”

In a statement, Universities UK branded the action “deeply frustrating” and blamed it on “a small minority of staff” who it said were determined to strike.