UNIVERSITIES are on a “collision course with unprecedented strikes” after bosses failed to make a new offer on pay and working conditions, the University and College Union (UCU) warned today.

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) demanded the “suspension of planned industrial action as a pre-condition” for fresh proposals during a meeting with union officials on Tuesday, according to the UCU.

The union branded the approach a “deeply unserious way to negotiate” and warned of a repeat of autumn’s national walkouts across the sector if employers do not budge.