MORE than 750 lecturers and teaching staff at MMU Cheshire staged a one-day strike yesterday.
The walk-out over pay, called by unions the National Association of Teachers in Higher and Further Education (Nafthe) and the Association of University Teachers (AUT), hit both Crewe and Alsager campuses.
But, according to university sources, with more than half of the 1,600 teaching staff not affiliated to either union, the strike brought minimum disruption to the university's 6,000 students.
MMU spokesman Gareth Hollyman said: 'This has not been paralysing by any stretch of the imagination.
'We have kept open libraries and essential student services and rearranged the day so most students could attend lectures as normal.
'There were only a handful of people on the picket line at Crewe.
'Starting today, we are also expecting staff belonging to both unions to stop marking work as part of their protests.
'But, again, we have known about this well in advance. The Dean, Dennis Dunn, has written to students to reas-sure them they will not be affected.'
The nationwide pay dispute has become increasingly bitter, with unions reacting in fury to universities' claims lecturers earn on average more than £40,000 a year.
Nafthe and AUT both claim the figure is distorted.
Mr Hollyman pointed out pay at MMU Cheshire had increased by 20.3% since 2001, and would increase further after the introduction last September of £3000 a year tuition fees for new students.
He said: 'One of our priorities has been to improve working conditions for staff.'
