TWO unions at the University of Winchester have joined forces in the latest series of strikes over pay.

Lecturers’ union University and College Union (UCU) and Unison which represents professional service staff clubbed together to protest pay and the lack of action from university management on Wednesday, June 28 and Thursday, June 29.

UCU branch secretary at Winchester University, Simon Boxley said: “Winchester is one of the Universities hardest hit by strikes and other forms of industrial action. Many essays and exam papers remain unmarked with students uncertain what will happen as a result.

READ MORE: University of Winchester support staff strike over pay

“It has been an extraordinary year of turmoil at the university, with more industrial action clocked up than any previous year.

“Part of this has to do with the national picture that everybody understands. However, UCU’s anger is particularly directed at the VC’s decision to deduct 100 per cent of pay for a boycott of marking that represents just a small fraction of members’ workload.”

The unions said they will keep fighting for a better pay deal, however long it takes.

Industrial action could continue into the autumn with the latest strikes being the last for this academic year.

A university spokesman said: "We have a very small number of staff - seven, in fact - engaging in the marking boycott affecting a small number of students. We have good measures in place that have been clearly communicated with students, to ensure students are supported and able to continue with their studies or graduate, depending on what year they are in.”