Staff at 58 universities will strike between 1 and 3 December over two issues: pension cuts, and pay and working conditions. They are demanding a £2,500 pay increase to end ‘pay injustice’. More action is likely if demands are not met, causing further disruption for students in the run-up to Christmas. Staff pay has fallen by 20% after twelve years of below-inflation pay offers; one third of academic staff are on insecure contracts; the gender pay gap is 15%, and the most recent statistics reveal that of 22,810 UK professors, under a third were women and only 1% were Black. Staff are also experiencing a crisis of work-related stress with over half showing probable signs of depression. As well as the three-day walkout, staff at 64 other universities will take action short of striking by strictly working to contract and refusing any additional duties. This will go on indefinitely.