At least 70,000 university staff are to go on strike, in the latest instalment of the wave of industrial action taking place across the UK this winter. The University and College Union has announced its planned national strike will be held on 24, 25 and 30 November, with staff at 150 universities across the UK taking industrial action over pay, working conditions and pensions. The union said about 2.5 million students would be affected but that “disruption can be avoided if employers act fast and make improved offers. If they don’t, strike action will escalate in the new year alongside a marking and assessment boycott.” The striking lecturers, librarians and researchers are likely to be joined by the Royal College of Nursing and the PCS public sector union when results of their strike ballots are revealed this week, with teachers and school staff expected to follow with strikes in the new year. Strikes by Royal Mail workers are continuing this month, while the RMT rail union is reballoting its members over a further round of industrial action despite calling off strikes scheduled this week. The university strikes are said to be the largest ever in the higher education sector, after UCU members backed a national ballot in favour of industrial action, continuing a series of strikes that had been confined to smaller groups of universities. Jo Grady, the UCU general secretary, said: “Campuses across the UK are about to experience strike action on a scale never seen before. Seventy thousand staff will walk out and make clear they refuse to accept falling pay, cuts to pensions and insecure employment. “This is not a dispute about affordability – it is about choices. Vice-chancellors are choosing to pay themselves hundreds of thousands of pounds whilst forcing our members on to low-paid and insecure contracts that leave some using food banks. They choose to hold billions in surpluses whilst slashing staff pensions. “If university vice-chancellors don’t get serious, our message is simple – this bout of strike action will be just the beginning.” UCU’s demands include a pay rise in recognition of the cost-of-living crisis, after this year’s 3% increase, and an end to insecure contracts. On pensions, UCU wants employers to reverse the cuts imposed this year which it claims will see the average member lose about 35% from future retirement income. Raj Jethwa, chief executive of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, said there was “disappointment” across the sector at the decision, taken despite discussions on bringing forward the 2023-24 pay negotiations in response to cost of living concerns. “Any threats of industrial action will do nothing to support students, staff or the many higher education institutions working hard to avoid redundancies or maintain staffing levels, having delivered the August pay uplift,” Jethwa said. “UCU needs to provide its members with a realistic and fair assessment of what is achievable before encouraging strike action directed at students once again. UCEA and its member HE institutions always seek to work with UCU and other trade unions to support staff and students and to avoid any unfair disruptive action.” Universities UK, which represents employers under the University Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension fund, said: “We appreciate this could be a difficult time for students, who may be anxious about possible disruption to their learning. “Universities are well prepared for industrial action and will put in place a series of measures to protect students’ education, as well as other staff and the wider community.” The group said it was already working with UCU on the USS’s valuation and regulation, as well as “low-cost options for employees who want more flexible pension contributions”. “It is important to remember that USS pensions remain among the most generous in the private sector. Employer payments have risen to 21.6% of salary, which is far higher than most other schemes,” UUK’s spokesperson said.