STUDENTS at Lancaster University occupied a building today in support of the University and College Union (UCU) strike action and to demand that it cuts ties with arms companies.

The action came as thousands of university staff and civil servants took strike action in disputes over pay, pensions and working conditions.

More than 70,000 UCU members began the first of three successive days of strike action at 150 universities and about 100 members of the Public and Commercial Services union at the British Museum working in visitor services and security teams are striking all week.

Students at Lancaster University barricaded themselves inside the four-floored Charles Carter building, which contains seminar rooms and management school offices, to demand that the university actively meets the demands of the UCU, cuts ties with all arms companies and agrees to not take any disciplinary action against any of the occupiers.

A student occupier said: “Lancaster University has failed to support staff and students throughout the cost-of-living crisis.

“Staff are working under immense pressure, working long hours and, for some, in unstable short-term contracts.

“At the same time, students report drastically worsening mental health and some are even being forced to work long hours to afford to stay in education.

“We have been forced to take this disruptive direct action to show university management that enough is enough, and that we will no longer accept being treated as a business opportunity.”

The students have also hit out at the university for “prioritising profits over ethics” by signing agreements with arms companies such as BAE Systems.

Occupiers said they currently have no plans to leave the building.

Lancaster University was approached for comment.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Staff are striking because they are sick of being denied a decent pay rise, secure employment and proper pensions.

“And students are standing with us because they know that staff working conditions are their learning conditions.

“Our union is determined to reach a negotiated settlement which allows staff to get back to work and students to continue their studies uninterrupted.

“But that can only happen if vice-chancellors come out of hiding and use a fraction of the sector’s vast wealth to make serious, well-rounded offers to staff.”

UCU is currently taking part in talks with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which represents 144 employers, via the conciliation service Acas.

The UCEA has made a pay offer of between 5 per cent and 8 per cent, which had been rejected by the union.

PCS members are on strike this week at the Department for Work and Pensions, DVLA and the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

They will be joined by Border Force staff in Dover, Calais, Coquelles and Dunkirk on Friday.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Our hard-working members are sorry they’re taking this action during half term because their working life is dedicated to sharing information with people, especially young people learning about the exhibits and artefacts in the British Museum.

“That they are taking this action shows how strongly they feel taken for granted by the government.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak, who joined a picket line at the British Museum, said: “Nobody takes the decision to strike lightly.

“But the Conservative government is pushing workers like these museum staff into a corner by refusing to engage in serious pay negotiations.

“We all want these pay disputes to be quickly resolved. And that can happen if Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak do the right thing and come to the negotiating table with credible pay offers.

“Until then, unions will hold firm, because we know that decent pay rises are possible – it comes down to political choices.”