The University and College Union (UCU) has renewed its strike mandate at UK universities for a further six months and launched a members' consultation on both the pension and pay and working condition disputes.

The union confirmed that the pensions ballot recorded a turnout of 58.4 per cent, with 89 per cent backing strike action in the pensions ballot, whilst the pay and working conditions ballot recorded a total turnout of 56.4 per cent, with 85.6 per cent backing the call for action.

In both disputes, the yes vote was also up on the previous ballot.

In addition to this, the UCU confirmed that union members voted "overwhelmingly" for action short of strike in both ballots, with the union to now begin preparations to serve notice for a marking and assessment boycott.

However, the UCU also launched a members' consultation on recent progress around both the pension and pay and working condition, with members to be given the option to reject or note the proposals in each dispute.

In particular, in relation to the pensions dispute, the Union's Higher Education Committee has recommended that members vote to "note" the continuing joint work with Universities UK (UUK), rather than reject this.

Indeed, UUK and UCU recently committed to working together to prioritise work to restore benefits to pre-April 2022 levels, after an update from the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) confirmed that restoring benefits to pre-April levels will cost less than employers are currently paying into the scheme.

Commenting on the latest update, UCU general secretary Jo Grady, stated: "Today belongs to our members, who have made UCU the first education union in the UK to win back-to-back national ballots, twice beating the Tories' anti-union laws.

"The numbers voting in favour of action has only increased and if employers were in any doubt about the determination of university staff to save the sector, they can be no more.

"Employers thought we could not win a national ballot. They were wrong. Employers thought we could not repeat it. They were wrong again. Every vice chancellor in the UK today now knows we will win any strike action ballot we call.

"Members will now be consulted on proposals in both disputes, and employers know strike action can be called again at will. Importantly, we have shown university bosses that it is staff who are in the driving seat."

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