The University and College Union (UCU) announced on 6 November that their ballot results to renew their strike mandate have fallen short of the required threshold.
In a statement released on their website, the UCU described the news as: “bitterly disappointing.”
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsNEW: Anti-union laws stop UCU members from taking strike action.
— UCU (@ucu) November 6, 2023
Our ballot results show UCU members want to strike for better pay & conditions.
But anti-democratic laws that single unions out for special treatment have blocked us from taking action.https://t.co/Dl6EsSnmKT
The ballot, which closed on November 3, returned a vote of 68.32 per cent of members in favour of strike action and 75.57 per cent in favour of action short of strike action.
Turn out for the vote however, was 42.59 per cent.
In the United Kingdom, at least 50 per cent of eligible members must respond to the ballot in order to reach the threshold.
In their statement the UCU described this threshold as an “anti union law”, imposed by the “right wing government.”
Despite the ballot’s failure to reach the threshold, the UCU statement does indicate progress in negotiations with the University Colleges Employers Association (UCEA):
“I am pleased to say that UCEA have recognised the strength of feeling that exists right across our sector, and indicated that they want to enter into extensive negotiations with us on a wide range of issues, including pay, with a view to bringing much needed long-term stability to our sector.”
The UCU have been in dispute with UCEA for five years over pay and working conditions.
The previous mandate held by the UCU saw the introduction of the marking and assessment boycott (MAB) which suspended all summative assessment marking from April to September this year.
Image via Sarah Challen Flynn.