From Bristol 24-7 www.bristol247.com
Staff at Bristol’s two universities are taking strike action this morning as part of a national day of action over a continuing row on pay.
Members of the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU), Unite, Unison and EIS are picketing the Frenchay campus of the University of the West of England (UWE), City of Bristol College and Bristol University’s Senate House.
A rally at College Green is expected to take place at 1pm. 
The staff are angry at a “miserly” 1% pay offer from employers, which they say represents a 13% pay cut in real terms since 2008.
In October, university lecturers took their first national strike over pay since 2006.
The Universities and Colleges Employers Association, which negotiates pay on behalf of institutions, sought to downplay the impact of the latest strike, saying October’s action “caused very limited disruption” as “less than 5% of staff voted for industrial action”.
UCU regional official Nick Varney said: “Staff in Bristol’s universities and colleges are taking strike action to say enough is enough. They have seen their pay slashed in real terms since 2009 and this year’s miserly pay offer, at a time of rising bills, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Staff love their jobs, but their goodwill cannot continue to be taken for granted. Nobody wants to take strike action and lose a day’s pay, but we feel we have been left with no alternative.”
