University strikes at Easter loom after unions vote to ballot members

Picket lines and placards may return to universities this Easter, after the University and College Union (UCU) voted to ballot its members over industrial action.

Union members will vote on whether to support the proposals in February, which if approved would see strike action set to follow in the months after.

This comes after the UCU expressed concerns over new pay deals which have been offered to university staff.

Academics have been offered a minimum 2.5% pay rise by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), with some offered deals in the region of 5.7%.

UCU has claimed that many staff would not receive a real term pay increase of 2.5% this year, with some universities staggering pay rises

However, UCU has claimed that many staff would not receive a real term pay increase of 2.5% this year, with some universities staggering pay rises in two instalments.

The union are seeking to secure a fully funded pay increase of 5.5% for all its members in 2025.

Members of UCU’s Warwick branch took part in a consultative ballot in December, alongside other UCU members, over the pay deal offered by UCEA.

68% of the union’s members who voted in the ballot rejected the proposed pay offer, whilst just over half (53%) showed initial support for industrial action.

However, concerns have been raised by some academics and union officials that the turnout threshold for the final ballot will not be reached, jeopardising potential industrial action.

Dr Duncan Adam, a Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, said that the ballot will be a “leap of faith”, after only 27% of union members voted in the consultative ballot – a number UCEA claims makes up less than 5% of the academic workforce.

Current strike laws require at least half of a union’s members to vote in a formal ballot for any strike action to be able to take place. UCU members failed to reach that threshold for the first time in November 2023, with only 43% of members voting then for proposed strike action.

There’s a sense of not living in the real world given the state of university finances […] A substantial number of universities are in deficit

University vice-chancellor

UCEA bosses have criticised the decision by the UCU to ballot on strike action, after they said they had been working with the union on pay and workload offers.

They added: “This decision is deeply disappointing given the patience and support of our members and UCEA’s attempts to agree proposals.”

Rej Jethwa, the UCEA’s Chief Executive, has also confirmed that institutions would no longer work jointly with unions over pay reviews following the UCU’s decision to ballot its members on strike action.

Members of the Unison union are also set to ballot for industrial action in January, though other academic unions have yet to follow.

Universities are reportedly concerned about the potential of strike action, with some institutions worried they would struggle to meet higher pay demands amid a funding crisis.

One university vice-chancellor told The Times: “It’s not great news. There’s a sense of not living in the real world given the state of university finances and affordability challenges. A substantial number of universities are in deficit.”

They added: “There is still hope UCU members will see reason and that either it won’t go forward or will be a work-to-rule rather than strike action.”

Warwick UCU was approached for comment.