‘Money for shiny new buildings, but not for us’

Billy Jones, Socialist Party Gloucestershire

Staff at the University of Gloucestershire, organised in Unison, held three days of strike action mid-April, with more strike days to come.

For the last 17 years they have been given nothing but below-inflation pay offers, which mean real-terms pay cuts. The current offer of a 1.4% pay award is not only lower than the 2% the university had budgeted for, but is also completely unacceptable.

The strikers are asking for a one-off, non-consolidated payment, an increase in annual leave, and a shorter working week.

Unison rep Joe Sucksmith explained: “Our members are generally the lower-paid members of staff, such as cleaners, porters, administrative staff, and student services. They are genuinely struggling to support themselves.”

The current vice chancellor of the university has a yearly salary of over £200,000, and the university recently spent £75 million building a new campus in Gloucester. One of the strikers asked: “How can they pour money into shiny new buildings, and then claim there’s not enough to pay us?”

“You don’t come into higher education for the pay,” Joe says. “You come into this sector because you love working with students. We love what we do, and we absolutely don’t want to be on strike – but it comes to a point where you have no other option.”

The newly established Socialist Students society at the University of Gloucestershire visited two of the picket lines last week. They are helping to set up a campaign to lobby the Students’ Union for support, as well as writing to the vice chancellor. After just an hour or so on the picket, members managed to collect the details of over twenty students who were willing to engage with this campaign.