ÌÇÐÄVlog

Higher education unions have been warned that failures in upcoming ballots on collective industrial action could damage members¡¯ negotiating positions with employers.

The sector unions announced that they would?pursue collective strike action after rejecting the Universities and Colleges Employers Association¡¯s (Ucea) final pay offer of 1.4 per cent.

In a joint statement, the unions, which include UCU, GMB, Unison, EIS and Unite, said they would look to coordinate action ¡°as one collective¡±, and that they were ¡°united in rejecting this insulting offer in the strongest possible terms¡±. Ballots are due to take place in the week of 20 October.

But the reaction to the news has been mixed.

UCU¡¯s consultative ballot achieved a turnout of just 32 per cent, and union members and industrial relations experts were divided on whether the ballots would reach the minimum legal turnout required for strike action, which stands at 50 per cent.

Dyfrig Jones, vice-president of UCU, said: ¡°It¡¯s in nobody's interest for the ballot to fall short¡±.

¡°Failing to make the threshold, particularly on a national ballot, undermines our negotiating position¡­So I would hope that everybody in the union, and everybody in all five of the unions, are really putting their shoulders to the wheel to ensure that we do make the threshold,¡± he told ÌÇÐÄVlog.

He said that ¡°there was a strong feeling¡± among members of UCU¡¯s higher education committee (HEC), which voted to pursue national action, ¡°that this was something new and something positive and could shift the dial¡±.

Previous plans to pursue a national strike ballot by UCU were dropped earlier this year amid fears that it was out of touch with the redundancy crisis facing cash-strapped universities.

Roger Seifert, emeritus professor of industrial relations at Wolverhampton University, said ¡°the context makes predictions difficult¡± but anticipated a ¡°strong vote in favour of pay action for now, with both sides seeking to hold a unified line in a harsh political and financial environment¡±.

A successful ballot could see UCU ¡°seek redemption from [its] recent failures¡±, and Seifert anticipated that it ¡°probably will reach the threshold as the situation is worsening by the hour¡±.

But he noted that turnout is ¡°inspired by clarity and courage from union leaders backed up with robust propaganda campaigns¡±.

The question is, he said, ¡°Do the leadership have the desire and the members the stomach for a real fight?¡±

Gregor Gall, visiting professor in industrial relations at the University of Leeds and research associate at the University of Glasgow, said that the current political climate could make the decision to pursue collective action more effective.

¡°Although the sector is in a prolonged financial crisis, the Labour government is now in a crisis too,¡± he said, referencing a recent Cabinet reshuffle and questions about the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

¡°This potentially opens up a political space where what was a weaker force¡­can have a greater impact than normal.

¡°In this situation, and without wanting to fight on too many other fronts, the Labour government may make just enough additional funding available to make an improved pay offer acceptable enough.¡±

However, he said, ¡°it will be very hard to achieve¡± the turnout.

Higher education institutions have experienced a turbulent start to the academic year, with union members at universities including Edinburgh, Nottingham and Leicester taking strike action in the first weeks of the new academic year.

Lancaster, Sheffield Hallam, Sheffield, Oxford Brookes and Dundee have also announced strike ballots over local disputes.

Sophia Woodman, president of Edinburgh¡¯s UCU branch, who is a member of UCU¡¯s National Executive Committee and voted against the ballot in its current form, said there is ¡°a conflict¡± between local disputes and national industrial action.

¡°I have long advocated [for] UCU working with other unions, locally and nationally,¡± she said.

¡°However, in this case, we have jumped into a joint campaign without adequate preparation and planning, or consideration for branches in local disputes. There was the option to defer a decision until we had a proper plan in place, but that was not the decision taken by the HEC.¡±

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com