Staff at another 14 universities can join strike action
The number of UK universities who could be hit with strike action this term now stands at 74 following a series of reballots in disputes over pensions, and over pay and conditions.
UCU members at 60 universities walked out for eight days between Monday 25 November and Wednesday 4 December. Staff at a further 12 universities* can now join them after UCU members there backed industrial action and, crucially, met the punitive 50% legal turnout threshold:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Members at Birkbeck and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) backed action in both disputes. A further nine institutions backed strike action over pay and conditions, while three more institutions could be set to walk out over pensions. Staff at two institutions that took part in strike action last year – the University of Oxford and the University of East Anglia – will also now be able to take action in relation to both disputes.
Overall, in the latest ballots 80% of members backed strikes over pensions, while 76% voted for strike action over pay and conditions. The union said that the strong support for action showed that members are just as determined as ever to defend their pensions, pay and working conditions.
The union’s higher education committee (HEC) meets tomorrow (Thursday) to consider the reballot results, listen to updates from both disputes and discuss next steps in the two disputes. The disputes centre on changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and on universities’ failure to make improvements on pay, equality, casualisation and workloads.
The body representing universities in the pay, equality, casualisation and workloads dispute made an offer to the unions on Tuesday evening. An analysis of that offer from UCU general secretary Jo Grady is available here. The union’s HEC will consider that offer and receive an update on talks between UCU, USS and Universities UK – the universities’ representatives in the dispute over USS pensions,
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘UCU members at 74 universities could walk out this term. We have been clear from the outset that we are prepared to take serious and sustained action to defend pay and conditions, as well as our pensions, and these latest ballot results show that members are just as determined as ever.
‘Our higher education committee meets tomorrow to consider next steps in both disputes and will respond to the offer from the employers and discuss the latest from the talks on USS.’
The full updated list of institutions eligible to take strike action is as follows (updated institutions are in bold):
|
Both disputes (46): |
|
1. Aston University |
|
2. Bangor University |
|
3. Cardiff University |
|
4. University of Durham |
|
5. Heriot-Watt University |
|
6. Loughborough University |
|
7. Newcastle University |
|
8. The Open University |
|
9. The University of Bath |
|
10. The University of Dundee |
|
11. The University of Leeds |
|
12. The University of Manchester |
|
13. The University of Sheffield |
|
14. University of Nottingham |
|
15. The University of Stirling |
|
16. University College London |
|
17. The University of Birmingham |
|
18. The University of Bradford |
|
19. The University of Bristol |
|
20. The University of Cambridge |
|
21. The University of Edinburgh |
|
22. The University of Exeter |
|
23. The University of Essex |
|
24. The University of Glasgow |
|
25. The University of Lancaster |
|
26. The University of Leicester |
|
27. City University |
|
28. Goldsmiths College |
|
29. Queen Mary University of London |
|
30. Royal Holloway |
|
31. The University of Reading |
|
32. The University of Southampton |
|
33. The University of St Andrews |
|
34. Courtauld Institute of Art |
|
35. The University of Strathclyde |
|
36. The University of Wales |
|
37. The University of Warwick |
|
38. The University of York |
|
39. The University of Liverpool |
|
40. The University of Sussex |
|
41. The University of Ulster |
|
42. Queen’s University Belfast |
|
43. Birkbeck College |
|
44. SOAS, University of London |
|
45. The University of Oxford |
|
46. The University of East Anglia |
|
Pay and conditions dispute only (22): |
|
1. Bishop Grosseteste University |
|
2. Bournemouth University |
|
3. Edge Hill University |
|
4. Glasgow Caledonian University |
|
5. Glasgow School of Art |
|
6. Liverpool Hope University |
|
7. Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts |
|
8. Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh |
|
9. St Mary’s University College, Belfast |
|
10. Roehampton University |
|
11. Sheffield Hallam University |
|
12. The University of Brighton |
|
13. The University of Kent |
|
14. Bath Spa University |
|
15. Royal College of Art |
|
16. University of Huddersfield |
|
17. University of Winchester |
|
18. University of East London |
|
19. Leeds Trinity University |
|
20. UAL London College of Arts 21. De Montfort University 22. University of Greenwich |
|
USS pensions dispute only (6): |
|
1. Scottish Association of Marine Science |
|
2. The University of Aberdeen |
|
3. Institute for Development Studies |
|
4. Keele University |
|
5. King’s College London |
|
6. Imperial College London |
Responses