More than 70,000 staff at 150 universities across the UK will strike for 18 days between February and March in disputes over pay, working conditions and pensions, the University and College Union says.

“The clock is now ticking for the sector to produce a deal or be hit with widespread disruption throughout spring,” general secretary Jo Grady said on Thursday.

The union, which represents academics, trainers, librarians and professional staff in colleges and universities, said it was demanding better pay after employers set a pay rise worth three per cent following more than a decade of below-inflation pay awards.

As the country grapples with double-digit inflation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to resolve a wave of industrial actions in Britain that began last year.

The strikes have involved hundreds of thousands of workers and repeatedly disrupted key services such as health care and rail transport.