Teaching staff from Falmouth University were on strike today as they protest against, what they say, are low, unequal pay and job insecurity.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) joined a second nationwide strike as they urge universities to address four main issues: a real-terms decrease in academic pay, gender pay inequality, casualisation and the increase of zero hours contracts, and increases in vice chancellors' and principals' pay.

Tom Ingate, local rep for UCU Falmouth who teaches press and editorial photography, said: "One university, Essex, has already given their female professors a pay rise to match their male professors, they got rid of the gender pay gap completely. So we know it can happen.

Philippa Davey, regional support officer for the UCU, said: "One of the biggest issues is the number of people on precarious or zero hours contracts, and then you have got a vice chancellor on a salary that's hugely inflated in comparison.

"They are on zero hours, so not guaranteed work, or on very small contracts of maybe as little as 50 hours, with no guarantee that will be renewed year-on-year. That means people aren't able to progress in their career. They find it hard to find somewhere to live, not only can they not get mortgages, they are struggling to find rental properties, you can't get life insurance or income protection insurance, as they can't prove they have got a steady income."

She added: "I think people are even more shocked to find out that people teaching students who are paying nine grand a year are on rubbish contracts that people are protesting about at Sports Direct."

Once the academics had finished their protest outside the Woodlane campus, they headed down to Falmouth's beaches to carry out a litter pick.

Tom said: "There's not much happening inside the university today, as there's no students, so we wanted to do something for the town, so we're doing a beach clean."

A Falmouth University spokesperson said the action was part of a national strike with national negotiations "which the university is unable to influence at a local level."

They said: "The JNCHES [Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff] Gender Pay Report for 2015 stated that Falmouth was in the top 5 Universities in the country for gender pay parity for academic staff. Falmouth continues to work towards closing this gap still further.

"With regard to zero hours contracts this is often the most appropriate method of working for members of staff. The most common complaints against zero hours working is where the employer shows no commitment to the employee or stops them from taking other work. In Falmouth’s case, the guaranteed hours are agreed up front, in advance, and we do not stop anyone from working anywhere else."