Why you should vote in the UCU consultative e-ballot, why now, and what we think about the vote
This is a message from the UCL UCU branch committee about the current consultative e-ballot over the UK-wide negotiations.
We strongly encourage all members to vote in this ballot. Our union is strongest when we make decisions together.
You should have received an email from ucuconsultative@cesvotes.com with Subject “Higher Education consultative ballot – voting now open”. Each email has a unique voting link.
Some background to the current ballot is set out in https://www.ucu.org.uk/HEconsultation2024.
UCU’s higher education committee recommends that you:
1. vote to REJECT the pay element of the offer, and
2. vote to ACCEPT the terms of reference on the pay-related elements (contract types/casualisation, workload, equality pay gaps, pay spine review).
UCL UCU branch committee agrees with these recommendations and also believes that members should vote Yes to the industrial action question (number 3):
3. Are you willing to participate in industrial action in pursuit of an improved offer?
Here, UCU’s higher education committee made no direct YES/ NO recommendation, but did vote for the union to campaign for rebuilding national industrial action.
The reasons to vote YES to industrial action are:
- This is a moment of crisis and opportunity. The UK HE funding model affects students and staff alike. Fees have ballooned. It took years to save our USS pensions. The Times Higher Education is predicting 10,000 job losses in the sector this year alone. The new Labour Government is gradually facing up to the ‘HE crisis’.
- Our campaign for fully funding HE will aim to persuade management and politicians, especially MPs. We have to be in a position to take industrial action if needed: we can’t surrender that option. Recently, the National Education Union took the same approach.
- Note, Question 3 on industrial action does not commit any member to take action! It does not specify types of action – that will need debate. Nor does it imply prolonged action – to influence government we would likely focus on limited, politically sensitive dates.
- Question 3 simply asks whether you would be prepared to take industrial action. (Note an industrial action ballot at the time would be ‘aggregated’, that is, votes would be counted up together rather than separated by institution).
We encourage you to consider this question seriously. We know that we cannot defend Higher Education and restore pay levels without a struggle. That is why your committee believes that it is right that members should vote for industrial action in this ballot.
UCL UCU Executive Committee
https://ucl-ucu.org.uk/
