These 37 universities have voted for strike action this term
‘These results are a clear mandate for strike action,’ says lecturers’ union boss
Danny ShawLecturers, library staff and other university workers at 37 universities have voted for strike action to take place, amid an ongoing dispute over pensions.
The results of a separate vote will be released today, this time centring around a pay dispute, which could see more staff from UK universities decide to launch industrial action.
While the vote doesn’t mean strikes are inevitable, the University and Colleges Union (UCU) encouraged employers “to urgently revoke the pension cuts and return to the negotiating table to avoid strike action”.
The vote covered 68 universities, with just 37 of those institutions meeting the 50 per cent threshold required to legally hold a strike. Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University are exempt from this threshold.
The UCU will now meet with it’s members to discuss a course of action.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “These results are a clear mandate for strike action over pension cuts and should be heard loud and clear by university employers.
“Staff in universities have given their all to support students during the pandemic, but management have responded by trying to slash their guaranteed pension by 35 per cent.”
Universities UK told The BBC: “While it is disappointing to see some UCU members think industrial action over pensions is justified, the union has failed to secure a mandate for industrial action in 31 of the 68 institutions, meaning fewer branches have reached the threshold than in previous ballots.
“Union members voting ‘yes’ to strike action at eligible branches account for less than 7 per cent of the scheme’s total active membership…
“The employers’ proposals for reform are the only viable plans under current regulations that will keep the scheme affordable for members and universities and keep the defined benefit section of the scheme open.”
The National Union of Students has also come out in support of the strike.
Here’s a full breakdown of the institutions that have voted for strike action:
Institute of Development Studies
Aston University
Birkbeck
Durham University
Goldsmiths
UoL
Heriot-Watt University
Imperial College London
Keele University
King’s College London
London School of Economics
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Loughborough University
Open University
Royal Holloway
SOAS
The University of Birmingham
The University of Dundee
The University of Kent
The University of Leeds
The University of Nottingham
The University of Sheffield
The University of Stirling
University of Bath
University of Belfast
University of Bradford
University of Bristol
University of Cambridge
University of Edinburgh
University of Essex
University of Glasgow
University of Lancaster
University of Liverpool
University of Reading
University of St Andrews
University of Sussex
University of Ulster
University of York
Related stories recommended by this writer:
• Direct your anger at the people in charge, UCU boss tells students ahead of new vote on strikes
• ‘Lecturers going on strike will not help students in any way,’ says universities minister
• After a year of Covid disruption, lecturer strikes are now ‘inevitable,’ says UCU boss
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