Unite general secretary Sharon Graham will join nearly 600 striking Cambridge University workers on the picket line tomorrow.

When: 10:00 hrs, Friday 22 May 2026
Where: Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1RB (check)
Media are invited for photo, video and interview opportunities

The workers, including library, museum, estates management, finance, student services and IT staff, amongst others, are demanding the introduction of ‘Cambridge weighting’. This is a pensionable local pay supplement for all staff to address the exceptionally high cost of living in the city.

The University of Oxford has a pensionable Oxford University Weighting of £1,730 per year.
Cambridge staff receive no equivalent, apart from a 2.5 per cent interim payment, which does not address the cost of living for those on a low salary. This interim payment can be removed at any time.

Cambridge, like Oxford, is one of the most expensive cities in the UK – with rental costs 30 per cent above the national average. At the same time, Cambridge University has multiple billions in assets.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “While its workers are struggling with the city’s sky-high living costs, Cambridge University sits on an ever-growing mountain of wealth worth billions of pounds that it refuses to share.

“Oxford University already has a has local pay supplement now Cambridge University must now do the same. Unite will keep fighting until we have a fair deal for the university’s workers.”
ENDS