In 2020 staff at 74 universities held a 14-day strike over pensions, pay, and conditions. Now staff at 68 UK universities will be taking part in a wave of strike action over the next three weeks. Some are striking over pay and conditions, others over pensions: but for most taking action, it is over both. The University and College Union, which represents staff at institutions across the UK, has demanded a £2,500 pay increase for members, an end to ‘pay injustice’ and zero-hours contracts, and action to tackle ‘unmanageable workloads’. The dispute over pensions has been rumbling on for over a decade, but has been reignited by a valuation of a pension scheme used by academic staff - the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). Those involved in the action include some of the UK's biggest in terms of student numbers - such as the Open University, University College London, and the University of Manchester.