University of Hertfordshire staff are set to take strike action at the end of the month after disputes over pay, conditions, and pensions. 

The staff will be joining 70,000 others across 150 universities throughout the UK as the University and College Union (UCU) prepares to go on strike on three different dates: Thursday, November 24, Friday, November 25, and Wednesday, November 30.  

UCU Hertfordshire also took to Twitter claiming that the University of Hertfordshire vice chancellor, Quintin McKellar, has offered John Lewis vouchers to solve staff concerns over the cost of living crisis, a call to Validium - a mental health support service - and an online seminar on ‘planning for your financial future’.    

Disruption can be avoided if employers act fast and make improved offers. If they do not, strike action will continue to escalate in the New Year alongside a marking and assessment boycott, UCU said. 

The strikes come after UCU members overwhelmingly voted 'yes' to industrial action last month in two historic national ballots over "attacks" on pay and working conditions as well as pension cuts.  

Despite the result, vice-chancellors have not made any improved offers, the union said. UCU Herts also claimed the the UH vice chancellor, who is also vice-president of Universities UK received a remuneration package in 2020-21 worth £354,000.

In the pay and working conditions dispute, the union's demands include a meaningful pay rise in order to deal with the cost of living crisis and action to end the use of insecure contracts.

Employers gave a pay rise worth 3 per cent this year following over a decade of below inflation pay awards. A third of the academic staff are on some form of temporary contract.  

In the pension dispute, UCU is demanding employers revoke the cuts and restore benefits. The package of cuts made earlier this year will see the average member lose 35 per cent of their guaranteed future retirement income. For those at the beginning of their careers the losses are in the hundreds of thousands of pounds.  

UCU also stated that the University of Hertfordshire lecturers will be striking because their pay has plummeted to real terms by an unprecedented 25.5 per cent (RPI) since 2009. 

UH lecturers that are a part of UCU said: "UH finished 2020-21 with cash of £127.8 million, almost £30 million more than it started with. But it has chosen to spend £90 million on infrastructure, not staff. 

"We also want action on excessive workloads, UCU's Workload Survey 2021 found that lecturers work more than two unpaid days per week (50.4 FTE hours).  

"We lecturers love teaching our UH students, but we can't ignore how under paid and over worked we are. Our cause is fair and just. We urge colleagues, other UH staff and students to support us!" 

Although it is not known exactly how many staff will be taking part in the strike, UCU Hertfordshire claim that 80 per cent of staff had voted to strike with a 57 per cent vote turnout, which could result in over a thousand members.

The UK university sector generated a record income of £41.1bn last year with vice chancellors collectively earning an estimated £45million. UCU said the sector can more than afford to meet staff demands.  

University of Hertfordshire posted information about strike action, stating: “Strike action means that some staff taking part will not work on the strike days. This could result in some cancelled classes. ‘Continous action short of strike’ is a term that could mean our staff limit the work that they undertake on other days covered by the action.

"However, the university will remain open throughout strike action and most teaching will proceed as usual.”