Further strikes at UK universities at the start of the new academic year will test the patience of union members and their employers but the stand-off will continue unless both sides are willing to engage in a fundamental rethink of how the sector is organised, according to experts.
The University and College Union (UCU) will hold nationwide strikes in September as its long-running pay dispute with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (Ucea) continues.
Some fear that the high-profile walkouts – and the union’s marking boycott – is harming the reputation of the sector, already facing a battle to convince students and the wider public of its worth.
Jonathan Simons, head of education practice at the thinktank Public First, said the stress and angst caused to students and their families had been a “terrible error” at a “time when universities need friends in public opinion”.
