SUPPORT staff at universities were on the picket lines today after rejecting a “ludicrously low” 3 per cent pay rise.

Unison is staging waves of strikes against the real-terms pay cut: inflation stands at 9.9 per cent and is expected to rise higher.

The workers are seeking an increase equal to inflation plus 2 per cent to compensate for years of pay freezes and below-inflation increases.

Administrators, cleaners, library, security staff, catering employees and other workers are taking action, with union branches selecting their own strike timetables.

Workers at Manchester Metropolitan and Liverpool Hope universities walked out today, while Leeds University workers staged a rally marking the final day of a five-day strike — with more planned.

Unison North West higher-education official Andy Rutherford said: “Low pay has been a massive and growing problem in the university sector for upwards of a decade.

“Staff have become expert at stretching their pay to make ends meet.

“But the shock of the cost-of-living crisis has pushed many to breaking point, with no end in sight and problems likely to get worse.

“A 3 per cent pay award is nowhere near enough and the employers know it. This ludicrously low increase does nothing to ease the financial pressures for thousands of struggling staff.”

He called on employers to “put people before profits and pay staff proper, fair wages” or “employees will vote with their feet and leave universities for better paid, less stressful jobs elsewhere.”

Angela Blackburn, Unison branch secretary at the University of Leeds, told the Morning Star: “Staff  feel they have no choice but to strike.

“We have lost 33 per cent of our pay over the last 13 years, meaning staff now work for free from September to December compared to 2009.

“Another below-inflation pay offer this year is the last straw for staff. 

“Many are using foodbanks, taking second jobs on top of full-time hours at the university and can see no other option but taking strike action to force the employer back to the negotiating table to make us a fair pay offer.

“We’ve had enough.”

The universities and colleges are represented by the Universities & Colleges Employers Association, which has been approached for comment.