Strike action by university lecturers which is due to start this week will be extended to disrupt summer examinations and graduation ceremonies if there is no resolution to a dispute over pensions.
More than 1 million students in 65 universities across the UK will be affected by industrial action by members of the University and College Union (UCU), which begins on Thursday with 14 days of strikes spread over four weeks.
If employers refuse to return to the negotiating table with an improved offer, the UCU has warned that its mandate for strike action is valid for six months and it may decide to target exams, admissions and graduations in order to press its members’ case.
According to the UCU, undergraduates will be the hardest hit by the strike action, losing an estimated 575,000 teaching hours which will not be rescheduled. Institutions affected include some of the UK’s most prestigious universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Durham, Exeter, Imperial College London, Warwick and York.
