Birmingham UCU has launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds for striking staff who are facing financial hardship ahead of the latest round of strike days in the ongoing national disputes over pay, pensions and working conditions at the University of Birmingham and across higher education.

The funds raised via the BUCU GOFundMe strike fund, which has already generated more than £500 in donations in its first week, will help fund BUCU’s local strike hardship fund.

At last week’s General Members Meeting, members voted to allow each member (including PGTAs!) to claim a total of £100 from our local hardship fund to offset loss of pay during the strike. For those in particular hardship, the committee has also been empowered to grant larger sums on a case-by-case basis.

The local hardship is in addition to UCU’s national fighting fund, which all members are entitled to claim from. Donations to the hardship fund will allow less well-off members, many of whom are on part-time and insecure contracts, to continue to support the strike and put pressure on employers to agree a positive negotiated outcome over pay, pensions and working conditions.

Birmingham UCU members are joining a nation-wide action across 74 universities to fight for fair pay and pensions; sensible workloads; an end to widespread casualisation and insecure employment; and to close the substantial gender and ethnicity gaps in higher education. A total of 14 days of strikes are planned for the following dates:

• Week one – Thursday 20 & Friday 21 February
• Week two – Monday 24, Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 February
• Week three – Monday 2, Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4 & Thursday 5 March
• Week four – Monday 9, Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11, Thursday 12 & Friday 13 March