![\"\"](\"https:\/\/satellite.mmu.ac.uk\/northernquota-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/437\/2022\/12\/unnamed-8.jpg\")
He noted that the cost-of-living support provided by University of Manchester was a clear indication that there is sufficient money in the sector to meet uplifting pay and other demands of the dispute. He alleged that university managements allow the current political machinery to keep decimating everybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with Northern Quota, the General Secretary of the University and College Union, Jo Grady said with \u00a340 billion in reserve in the sector things ought not to be the way they were. She stated rather than offering staff a pay rise, universities are setting aside \u00a34 billion to construct new buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grady hoped it would not come to it but stressed the union\u2019s willingness to boycott assessment if it is required. She said the three-day strike was to show that issues relating to an inflation pay rise, workload reduction, and end of casualisation must be resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Julie Wilkinson, ex-Secretary of UCU Man Met said the strike which pulled two unions at the same time demonstrated how people are reaching out to each other and supporting each other in a bad situation. She said: “People are struggling with the cost-of-living increases and with its effect on our wages”. Wilkinson also noted that the UNISON members are on a very \u2018low pay\u2019 and that Man Met management is struggling to keep the wages in line with the Minimum National Living Wage. She maintained that the university is rich. Wilkinson said: “It\u2019s cash-rich. Which means it can afford an increase for us. But we are not getting a fair pay deal”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She argued that the public sector workers who are not earning enough to feed their families and hit their homes are those paying for the mistakes of Liz Truss and the Tory governments for many years. Wilkinson stated that they were picketing for a decent pay rate for everybody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She explained that many universities were saying: \u201cWe want to pay more to our workers, we think our workers deserve more but they are not paying\u201d. Wilkinson quarried: \u201cWho is stopping them?\u201d She alleged that the government that controls the employers\u2019 organisation is mounting political pressure to inhibit them from paying, \u201cWhat the employers agree is the fair deal\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maria Brown, Convener, UCU Committee in Man Met believed that since 2008 staff pay kept going down because of inflation. She said a one or two percent pay rise is worthless because inflation is far higher. Brown stated that the union had reasoned with UCEA about raising the staff pay but had not listened. She said the strike was to show “How unhappy we are”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Man Met and University of Manchester members of UCU and UNISON have taken three days of strike action to pressurise their employers for higher pay…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1625,"featured_media":8846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4972],"tags":[5089,5088,5090],"class_list":["post-8733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-govt-pressuring-employers-organisation-to-maintain-status-quo","tag-unison-on-low-pay","tag-with-40-billion-in-reserve-things-ought-not-to-be-the-way-they-were"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n