By Beth Robinson, News Reporter
On April 14, UNISON’s Bristol branch began three days of strike action, coinciding with the University of Bristol’s offer-holder day on April 15.
This follows five previous days of strike action in February and March over ongoing pay disputes between the university and Professional Services staff, as previously reported by Epigram.
The current national pay offer is a 1.4 per cent increase, which has been rejected by UNISON. Strikers described it as ‘insulting’ and ‘a 3.2 per cent real-terms pay cut’ at previous strikes in February.
Pickets took place across campus, with a central rally at Senate House on Wednesday 15, attended by over 100 members. These included speakers from UNISON, University and College Union (UCU), Unite The Union, and Bristol SU.
UNISON’s Bristol branch reports that hundreds of new members have joined in recent months. Co-Branch Secretary Nathan Street said that this ‘shows there’s no substitution for being a visible active union that is fighting for people.’
UNISON Communications Officer Alex Tissandier described mixed feelings about the growth in membership. He said, ‘a lot of the reasons people are joining is because suddenly they think their job is under threat.’
‘We’re bigger than we used to be now, and our voice carries a lot more weight. I don’t think senior management have caught up to that yet.’
One new member, who joined UNISON after the February and March strikes, said, ‘I was worried I couldn’t afford it, then I decided I couldn’t afford not to anymore,’ following the announcement of a restructure in her department.
Whilst acknowledging pay is the ‘most important issue,’ Nathan Street also described restructuring and risks of redundancy as key concerns for members. ‘People have given a lot of time and energy to the university and had that thrown in their face,’ he said.
At the Senate House rally, strikers chanted ‘what do we want? Fair Pay. When do we want it? Now.’
Over the three days of strikes, UNISON members displayed signs referencing Vice-Chancellor Evelyn Welch’s alleged salary, calls for cars to ‘honk for fair pay,’ and a sign by a UNISON member’s daughter reading ‘I want fair pay for my mummy.’
Addressing the crowd, UNISON member Robin Island said, ‘we are the staff of the University of Bristol. Without us, the University does not run.’
Alex claimed that there have been funding cuts to services including wellbeing services and accommodation, going on to say ‘you don’t see Durham making sweeping cuts, you don’t see Oxford, Cambridge, all these universities that [the University of Bristol] claims to be in comparison with.’
He also told Epigram the university ‘still maintain their hands are tied at a national level’ and ‘still have all kinds of control and power to influence staff pay.’
There were also chants of ‘fair pay and Palestine, one struggle one fight’ and a sign displaying the same message. This follows a Demilitarise Education Motion which passed at a UNISON branch committee meeting in January.
Strikers handed out flyers for a panel discussion entitled ‘UK universities and the arms trade: Challenging militarisation’, which will take place on April 20.
The flyer contains logos of the UCU, UNISON, Bristol SU, University of Bristol Staff Stand with Palestine, PSC, and Demilitarise Education.
Nathan said ‘that motion certainly reflects the overarching sentiment of branch members and was passed unanimously. It actually speaks to the funding crisis of our institution.’
A University of Bristol spokesperson said:
‘We respect the rights of our staff to act where they feel strongly about issues which affect them, but are disappointed that colleagues represented by Unison have voted to take part in this industrial action. The action relates to the 2025-2026 national pay award negotiated by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) on behalf of all participating institutions. We cannot unilaterally change this award.’
‘While these are challenging financial times for the University and wider sector, we recognise that investing in our staff is a priority. We therefore ensure that staff pay continues to be as competitive as possible within the sector and continue to pay the Real Living Wage.’
‘Mindful of the importance of supporting our students' learning and wider experience, we have robust plans in place to ensure our support services continue to operate and be accessible. We do not anticipate this strike action will impact teaching and assessment.’
Featured image: Epigram / Ellen Reynolds
