Arts University Bournemouth staff on strike over ‘insulting’ pay offer

Staff at Arts University Bournemouth, including cleaners, security workers, administrators and librarians, are set to take part in a day of strike action today, Tuesday, over a long-running pay dispute.

Employees are angry that despite rejecting the 1.5% pay offer made last August, managers have ignored staff protests and imposed the increase. Even with this increase, low-paid employees are still taking home less than £18,000 a year.

Years of under-investment in higher education, coupled with wage freezes, have kept staff pay artificially low, says the union. Workers want an across-the-board £1,250 increase to help them cope with soaring prices and inflation.

Staff were barely making ends meet even before the shock of the cost-of-living crisis, UNISON says. Now with prices rocketing, they cannot afford to accept a pay offer that’s already been wiped out by inflation, the union adds.

Preeti Sood, technician demonstrator and UNISON rep said:

“Going on strike is not an easy decision to make but we have had twelve years of pay cuts in real terms. My colleagues and I are struggling to make ends meet. We feel we have no other option but to fight for better and fair pay. We are calling on management to offer us a fair deal, enough is enough.

UNISON South West regional secretary Joanne Kaye said:

“Arts University Bournemouth staff have been left with no other choice but to take strike action. Despite their tireless efforts to ensure students receive a high-quality education, they have faced years of declining real wages.

“Enough is enough​.​ ​University employees simply can’t afford to live on poverty wages or accept woeful, insulting pay offers. It’s time for university managers to make a fair offer that provides a living wage to all staff.”