Nationwide UCU strike ballot fails following 60% failure to vote

The University and College Union’s (UCU) ballot to take strike action fell short of the 50% quota required to legally enforce industrial action, it was announced on Tuesday.

Just 39% of approximately 65,000 UCU members at universities across the UK voted during this six-week ballot period, with only 70% of them backing strike action and 83% in favour of taking action short of a strike.

Our immediate next steps must be to understand why more members did not engage with the ballot

Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary

The ballot came as a consequence of rising concerns over poor working conditions, stagnant wages and increasing job insecurity.

On their official website, the UCU outlines instances of poor conduct by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), including what they describe as a “derisory” offer to raise wages by 1.4%, and threats to cut over 15,000 jobs.

The ballot results demonstrate a limited interest for national industrial action, leaving the UCU’s national executive committee questioning the reasons for such low turnout.

UCU General Secretary Jo Grady stated: “our immediate next steps must be to understand why more members did not engage with the ballot”.

This announcement was met by strong opposition from the University of Sheffield

As calls to reconsider industrial action strategy intensify, the UCU Left bloc have outlined the cause: “The central problem is that many UCU members, including dedicated union reps, don’t believe that our leadership is willing to lead a serious fight”.

Following Tuesday’s ballot results, UCU members across various universities announced that they would forfeit 16 days of pay throughout November and December as a part of their current plans for strike action.

This announcement was met by strong opposition from the University of Sheffield, which warned staff that if they refused to deliver missed teaching, despite not being paid for it, they would be docked an extra two weeks of pay in January.

UCU regional officer Julie Kelley condemned the university’s actions describing them as “brutal”, and stating that the university “should be ashamed”.