Thousands of university students have been left disappointed after staff strikes continue over demands to improve pay, pensions and work conditions
According to the UCU website, over 70,000 members of staff across 150 universities will be striking this week.
Staff at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam university have been taking part in the action.
Many students have expressed their feelings over their interrupted teaching.
Maria Webb, 19, a politics and international relations student from the University of Sheffield said: “There’s no need to jeopardise our education that we pay for- when things get cancelled that’s money down the drain.
“I’ve been off all this week and am off all next week which means I am missing lectures on topics I find really interesting and missing seminars which give me the opportunity to talk about the content which I am missing out on. I’m frustrated as it could potentially affect my grades.”
However, it is not just this week universities will be seeing strike action.
The UCU released 18 dates of proposed national strikes that started on 1st of February and include dates all the way into March, affecting 2.5 million students.
Clement Carr, 20, a politics and history student from the University of Sheffield said: “Although I completely appreciate the strikers actions I have missed many weeks of lessons in the last year which I have paid for.
“I think students and teachers should work together when it comes to striking to make a far more effective movement.”
Despite the impact on students, the UCU aims to continue strike action until disputes over pay which includes issues like casualisation and pension cuts are settled.
Dr Inge Kersbergen, 31, a ScHARR lecturer at the University of Sheffield who is striking over pay gaps and working conditions said: “These reasons make it a very difficult environment to work in which is a shame because I love my job, research, teaching students and even the admin but think higher education could be a much better place to work in if employers listened to our demands.”
Dr David Hayes, 34, a law lecturer at the University of Sheffield said: “Striking does have an impact, we are currently making negotiations with one of the employers associations and we would not have got that if we had not been on strike and nothing else has ever consistently worked.
“The union works very hard to negotiate in good faith with the employers association and they still choose to do nothing because they do not have to listen to us and we do not have the power unless we withhold our labour and show that it’s hard to get things done without us.”