On the 10th and 11th March, striking UNISON members at MMU and RNCM formed picket lines, demanding pay rises to keep wages above inflation.
These are the second round of strikes UNISON staff have undertaken this year, following a ballot that saw 92% of workers voting in favour of industrial action on a 52% turnout.
Staff members on strike include library workers, professional services, cleaners and administrators, among other positions.
Academics, who are generally represented by UCU, have not gone on strike, after a November 2025 ballot failed to reach the 50% turnout threshold required for industrial action.
These actions are in response to a pay rise offer of 1.4%, made last May by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).
Inflation currently sits above 3%, with the ongoing Iran war expected to drive prices significantly higher in the near future.
Speaking to The Mancunion, one UNISON member said it was “outrageous that they think [this offer] is acceptable”.
“We’ve had pay deals below inflation since 2008… which is pay cuts year on year on year”.
Alongside striking workers, students from the cross-campus socialist society Manchester Student Left set up a stall offering refreshments and snacks in support. Messages of solidarity from other UNISON branches, sympathetic organisations, and UNISON leader Andrea Egan were read out to workers over the two days.
“The students being out is a huge morale boost, but also, we’re in the same fight”, one anonymous UNISON organiser told The Mancunion.
“UNISON has policy about how students shouldn’t be burdened with the debt of this failed idea of marketisation of higher education. It’s a public service, it’s a public good, and it has to be publicly funded, and that’s true for students as much as it is for us”.
UNISON staff at other universities across the country have also gone on strike this week.
Workers in Bristol disrupted the University’s open day on Wednesday 11, and KCL and SOAS in London each saw workers walk out and form pickets.
Upon being contacted for comment, a spokesperson for MMU told The Mancunion:
“While we respect the right of our trade unions to take industrial action, it is disappointing that strike action has been called. We continue to work with our trade union colleagues to address concerns.
“The University had plans in place to minimise any disruption and to ensure our students continued to receive the high-quality academic experience they expect and deserve”.
A spokesperson for RNCM told The Mancunion:
“We are a member of UCEA and are within a national framework for pay negotiations. We fully respect the right of our union members to act where they feel strongly about issues that affect them”.
No further strike actions have been announced in Manchester, although other universities have announced additional strike dates for late March.
Find more information about the strikes at UNISON’s website.
