Staff at 150 British universities begin striking over pay dispute

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Tens of thousands of staff members across 150 universities in the UK started industrial action on Thursday over pay.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are staging a two-day strike across the country after members rejected the latest pay offer from employers.

Some 80% of members have voted in favor of the strike after the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) had offered 4-5% raises, which is below both the unions' demand, as well as the inflation rate.

The UCU said that the National Union of Students (NUS) backed the strike decision expected to affect some 2.5 million students.

In a statement on Wednesday, the UCU said university bosses were "in hiding" and needed to engage properly in talks to prevent 15 more days of strikes from going ahead over the next two months.

UCU General Secretary Jo Grady said members were striking for 48 hours this week but are determined to take further action until they get a "fair deal."