Bristol Unison has seen both a growth in membership and a fighting spirit. Lucy Boyle reports from the picket line

Unison members at the University of Bristol took part in their 3^rd  round of strike days this year on 14, 15 and 16 of April. The strikes are a response to a 1.4% pay ‘increase’ which Unison argues amounts to a 3.4% real-terms pay cut. Wednesday’s action took place during a University of Bristol offer-holder event and included a rally where supporters gathered to hear speeches from staff.

Aly who works in the business school was on her first ever strike and shared her experiences. She said that when she started at Bristol University, she was excited to have a job that had ‘meaning’, but it had become apparent to her that ‘unfortunately the Vice Chancellor does not value my work.’ She reflected that wages don’t properly cover rent and food -‘how can we help students when we don’t know where our next meal is coming from?’

Nathan the co branch secretary noted that Bristol is the second most expensive city to rent property outside of London. ‘Our 1.4% doesn’t go as far as others across the country, so we really need a Bristol weighting. Oxford has weighting for their staff…I don’t know why it’s good enough for Oxford but not considered by Bristol.’

Rich who works for Bristol University Press argued that in 2009 ‘people had just enough and now they have less and less and less. We are doing all this great work…Bristol University is making good on our passion and skills…they end up looking great while we just keep suffering. We’ve had enough.’

Alex, co branch secretary, urged staff to continue to stand up for themselves and demand a decent life -‘I want my money, I want to go out and have fun, I want meals out occasionally, imagine such a thing, and all of that is achievable… That’s all I’m asking for- come to the table.’

Nathan explained the impact that restructuring has on staff and how hard it is to work ‘wondering when it might come, if it might come for you.’ Highlighting how even the staff who aren’t at risk are being made to do more with less, take on other people’s roles and see valued colleagues go. 

Jon Reddiford, a secondary school teacher in the National Education Union attended Wednesday’s rally in solidarity with the striking workers. He encouraged the staff that their actions have ripple effects beyond the higher education sector, adding that ‘an injury to one is an injury to all.’

Roger Thomas, vice president of Bristol Trades Council, reflected on the ‘tragedy’ of commercialisation of education in the last 50 years. ‘The consequence of that has been the vice chancellors get huge pay outs and staff get absolutely nothing… What we need is a properly public education system…available to everybody.’ Bristol University’s vice chancellor enjoys an eye-watering salary of hundreds of thousands of pounds, plus accommodation.

Lucie, the branch environmental officer, thanked children holding placards for showing their support. She said she hoped they would not have to do the same thing when they are of working age. ‘We are here so that all of our children don’t have to do this in the cold, in the wind, in the rain, in the future. So come on Bristol!’ Despite the weather, spirits remained high with cheering, whistles and the intermittent honking of cars passing by.

Student activist Rainbow reminded us where much of the university’s money comes from. Tying the fight for fair pay together with the fight against the university’s connections with the arms industry and its catastrophic effects from Palestine to Iran. She argued passionately: ‘We need to demilitarise our education. The tuition fees students pay should go towards paying our staff enough. It should not go towards making bombs’ (and weapons).

Several workers seethed at how commodified they felt by the actions of the university’s upper management. Lisa from the school of arts said she has been working for the university for over twenty years and feels like ‘we’re numbers on a spreadsheet… we need to be valued.’ Aniqah who works in finance, asserted that she is part of a community of workers who uphold the institution, who are ‘not cogs in a machine.’

Nathan and Alex were both heartened by the fact that union membership is growing. Nathan remarked that he has seen more members join up and ‘so many people energized by the struggle.’ Alex reflected that ‘there have been periods of time when we’ve been very quiet and very small. We are now very large and very vocal.’

The message from Wednesday’s rally was consistent and insistent- nobody should be working poor. The staff are the backbone of the university, and they demand to be heard, respected and paid.As one staff member put it- without us, everything falls apart.