New trade union strike dates announced for February

The Joint Trade Unions (JTU), comprising Imperial’s three recognised trade unions, have been on strike since early October. The most recent round of strikes took place in the first two weeks of term, ending on Friday 16^th January. 

Staff from all three JTU unions – Unite, Unison and the  University and College Union (UCU) – will walk out for an additional three full days this month, on 12^th, 16^th, and 24^th February.  

Since Imperial left national pay bargaining in 2005, staff pay has been determined through negotiations between the JTU and College management. The unions have been on strike after submitting a pay claim including 7.2% uplift pay and a £2,000 flat payment, and College management responded with a 2% pay offer alongside a package of non-pay items. 

“The unions made clear – early and consistently – that such an offer would not be acceptable to staff and indicated that industrial action would be inevitable if no improvement was forthcoming,” wrote Vijay Tymms, Principal Teaching Fellow for Physics and President of the Imperial UCU branch on the trade union’s webpage. “Those warnings were not acted upon.”