Portsmouth lecturers continue to strike
Some university lecturers joined the picket lines outside the University of Portsmouth earlier today to show their support for the strike action.
The striking staff held signs and handed out flyers promoting the walkout to passers-by.
This week marks the third week of strikes for many university staff, which has caused disruption all over the country, as well as in Portsmouth. The striking has occurred over concerns about falling pay, working conditions, pay gaps, and pension cuts.
A 19-year-old forensic psychology student at the University of Portsmouth, Lily Burke, said: “The lecturers’ fight is not with students, it’s with the government, yet we’re the ones being held back and having our hard-earned money wasted.”
Other students’ opinions, such nursing student Holly Blackshaw, seemed to align with Miss Burke’s. Despite agreeing with the reasoning behind the strikes, Miss Blackshaw, 21, too felt that this “Shouldn’t come at the expense of the education that we, as students, are paying for”.
However, the vice chair of the University and College Union’s Portsmouth branch, Iona Byford, insisted that the strikes were “Absolutely vital” for the long-term benefit of all students and lecturers alike. She said: “Striking and disrupting our students is a last resort. We are only doing this because we see no other way to help ourselves and our students.”
The City of Portsmouth itself seems to reflect the controversial nature of the strikes. Graffiti against the strikes, as well as stickers and signs supporting them, have appeared on different buildings throughout the city.
Although there are no exact figures, Portsmouth’s UCU has a large representation from staff. Today has seen 70,000 staff at 150 universities across the country join the strike. This comes after the intense talks between UCU representatives and the government have ended without an agreement.
