Students get taste of strikes sweeping UK

Action on campuses marks new front in workers' bid to counter rising costs

Thousands of students across Britain are facing anxious days as a threat of sustained industrial action by academics and other university workers hangs over their study schedules.

Classes were disrupted on Thursday as workers at around 150 universities staged the first of a number of days of planned strike action over pay, working conditions, and pensions.

The industrial action on British campuses comes amid months of standoffs between employers and workers in sectors across the country — from transport to health — as a cost of living crisis fuels demands for higher pay.