By Aysha Sarah
On Monday 24 October, the University and College Union (UCU) announced that more than 70,000 staff at 150 universities could now strike, after ballot turnout among members of the UCU exceeded the 50% voting threshold.
This is the first time a ballot by an education union has met the legal threshold of a 50% turnout across the country. This allows the union to call a national strike as opposed to a strike at individual universities, which would have only permitted staff at those institutions to strike. Previously, individual UCU branches were required to obtain their own authorisations for walkouts. The UCU is now the only union to secure a national mandate for action in the education sector since the anti-trade union laws were passed in 2016.
Staff members were polled on two separate ballots: pay & working conditions, and pension cuts. In the UCU’s ballot on pay and working conditions, 57.9% of members participated and 81.1% voted for strike action. The pension vote resulted in an 84.9% affirmative vote and a 60.2% turnout. In both rounds of voting, a large majority of employees supported non-strike action.
In the pay and conditions ballot, the union’s demands include a significant pay increase to combat the rising cost of living. This year, staff were only offered a 3% pay increase, and a third of academic staff are on temporary contracts. The Retail Price Index (RPI) hitting 12.3% this year has made the offer insufficient. In the pension ballot, UCU is demanding that employers reverse the 35% cut they made earlier this year to the average member’s guaranteed retirement income.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady commented: ‘‘Today history has been made by our members in universities, who in huge numbers have delivered an unprecedented mandate for strike action.
‘‘University staff are crucial workers in communities up and down the UK. They are sending a clear message that they will not accept falling pay, insecure employment and attacks on pensions. They know their power and are ready to take back what is theirs from a sector raking in tens of billions of pounds.’’
A spokesperson for the higher education regulatory body in England, the Office for Students, said: “We are very concerned about the potential impact of these strikes on students. It cannot be right that students face further disruption to their studies, and we would urge the employers and trade unions to work quickly so that any industrial dispute does not materially affect students.”
On 3 November, the UCU’s higher education committee will meet to determine the next steps. Strike dates are yet to be decided.
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