University of Hertfordshire lecturers protested outside the campuses for a second day in a row to fight for better pay and working conditions.
Day two of the University and College Union (UCU) strikes at the Hatfield-based campuses saw multiple senior lecturers take a stand.
UCU’s UH branch president, Keith Seed, who is also a senior lecturer in strategy said: “We have seen a cut in real pay since 2009 and our workloads have gone through the roof and it's concerning how there is still a pay gap.
“At the same time, what’s angering us is some teachers earn £36,000 and yet the head of this university received a renumeration of £354,000 in a year. So, we are angry that at the top of the university that has incredibly high salaries and then there's the average teacher with mid £30,000 to £38,000.”
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Inflation has gone up 14.2 per cent (RPI) but the staff have been offered a 3 per cent this year, which means they are facing a drastic real terms cut of 11.2 per cent - while energy prices and interest rates continue to rise.
Keith added: “The workload is a big part of it as well. Personally, unless I work for free on Saturdays, Sundays and in the evening, I just cannot do the job. I am only contracted to 37 hours but if we don’t do that then the students suffer. It’s really stressful and overwhelming.” 
He added: “If you look around the university, there are some incredible buildings that cost millions of pounds to build. So, there is plenty of money for new shiny buildings but there isn’t enough money to pay decent wages.”
Will Atkinson, a business school lecturer who has worked at the University of Hertfordshire for eight years, said: “In the last few years particularly, the workload has increased to the extent where I just feel like I can’t really keep up a lot of the time and a lot of people feel that way.
“I am a UCU rep as well, so I hear their stories and it is just a combination of things such as casual contracts, lecturers coming from a long distance to teach one-hour lectures, and people that are overloaded with work, so we’re all feeling the strain.
”Since the pandemic, our workload has just gone up. We have so many new students now, around 3,500 undergrads and 2,200 in post grad and three years ago we had about 500 post grad students. 
“We don’t have any time to do the job the way we want to do it anymore, which affects students learning and that is the thing that kills me because that’s what I take my pride in. That’s what I’m here for.
"It’s so frustrating to not be heard and everything becomes a bit much. I work extra all the time now and I have a son, I want to be able to see him.”
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