Pay dispute | Employee goes on strike on FIRST DAY of new job

A university lecturer has gone on strike on her very first day in her new job. Dr Hannah Little joined the University of Liverpool as a lecturer in Communication and Media, starting on Valentine's Day, but hasn't yet set foot in a Liverpool lecture theatre due to joining in the strike action, the Express reports.

Dr Little is among thousands of academic staff across the country who began up to 10 days of strike action on 14th February. Led by the UCU (the University and College Union), they are protesting against university leaders who have “failed staff and students”, the UCU says.

In a statement on their website, UCU says: “This dispute is over a 20% real terms pay cut over the past 12 years, unmanageable workloads, pay inequality and the use of exploitative and insecure contracts, which are rife across the sector.“

“Altogether, more than 50k staff are expected to walk out, with well over a million students set to be impacted,” the UCU statement adds.