Around 600 Cambridge University workers have taken further strike action in a dispute over their pay.
The staff work across the library, museum, estates management, finance, student services and IT department.
They have asked their employer for a pensionable local pay supplement to address the cost of living in the city, adding that the University of Oxford introduced one in 2024 worth £1,500 per year. Last August, it increased it by 15% to £1,730 and extended it to all non-clinical staff.
The staff argued that they only receive a 2.5% interim payment, which they feel does not address the cost of living for those on a low salary. They have also asked for a full pay review to tackle compression at lower pay grades, which they said has resulted in a lack of fair wage progression.
Unite stated that Cambridge University offered a 1.4% pay rise for 2025/2026, but staff feel this is not enough.
Strike action took place on 13-14 May as well as today (15 May), and will also take place on 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 and 29 May.
The workers previously were on strike on 21, 22 and 30 April and 1 May, which saw full or partial closures of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Whipple Museum, Scott Polar Museum, Zoology Museum, Haddon Library, and the Architecture and Art History Library.
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: “Cambridge University is sitting on billions of pounds but the workers who keep it running are struggling to keep their heads above water due to the high cost of living in the city. Oxford University has introduced a local pay supplement to ensure workers can afford to live; Cambridge needs to as well.”
Chris Hardwick, regional officer at Unite, added: “Cambridge University bears full responsibility for the disruption facing students and members of the public. It can clearly afford to provide Cambridge weighting and ease the intense cost of living strain affecting its staff. This dispute will keep escalating until the university introduces additional support for its dedicated and hardworking employees.”
Cambridge University was contacted for comment prior to publication.
