University Workers Prepare to Take Fight Directly to Labour

Universities face possible sector-wide strikes after the University and College Union (UCU) overwhelmingly backed a motion preparing the union for a trade dispute with the government over the crisis in higher education funding.

The motion, which faced little opposition from delegates at the union’s annual congress in Liverpool, could see the government clash directly with the union for the first time.

Passed on 25 May, the decision comes at a time of crisis for the higher education sector, with the union claiming that one in two universities is proposing cuts to staff or courses and that the jobs of up to 10,000 staff are under threat. This year, 16 universities have already voted in favour of strike action, with disputes at Sheffield and the University of East Anglia.

The motion marks a significant escalation by the UK’s biggest academic union, committing the union to “open a trade dispute with the secretary of state for education [Bridget Phillipson] over higher education funding as soon as possible”. 

Launching a dispute against Phillipson could allow the union to launch a national ballot, which, if passed, would allow strikes at all universities balloted.

Zara Dinnen, a delegate from Queen Mary University of London who moved the motion alongside UCU branches from Goldsmiths and Essex, described it as the start of a “new fight for our jobs and our sector”.

The motion, which was drafted by a network of grassroots members, is a departure from the union’s previous approach, which has targeted the employer body – the Universities and Colleges Employers Association – in its disputes. 

The former approach did not pose a direct challenge to the government’s funding model, which expects universities to make up the shortfall in direct government funding following sweeping cuts through the recruitment of domestic and international fee-paying students. More recently, it has meant that universities have been fighting redundancy battles branch by branch, instead of at a national level.

Speaking on BBC Radio Four, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Individual employers are saying that their hands are tied when it comes to resolving our disputes, because they are gesturing towards a broken funding model.”

Instead, as the sector’s funding model is determined by the education secretary, the motion argues the union should focus on challenging her.

“What we are saying is that the government has the ability to intervene in this sector and to issue instructions,” Grady said. “Labour at the moment is sitting on the sidelines, watching a deepening crisis unfold. The model that we have is cannibalising the sector.”

As of yet, Labour has largely ignored the unfolding crisis in higher education. In 2023, Keir Starmer told the BBC he was “very uncomfortable” with the union’s marking boycott. In response, Grady accused Starmer of “undermining” university staff, adding that he should back them and “not bosses”.

Last November, Phillipson announced a £285 rise in university tuition fees, taking them to £9,535 a year. This hike, the first in eight years, has done little to stabilise university finances, while further increasing student debt.

Grady said it was “shameful” that university cuts had become so severe under a Labour government that the union had to lay the groundwork for a trade union dispute.

“We are being hamstrung by a government that has refused to deal with the underlying financial issues plaguing our sector and now seems intent on making the crisis worse still with new cuts, levies, and restrictions on recruitment.”

The move within UCU comes after a period of sustained national action over pay and working conditions. While different sections of the university workforce have faced different workplace challenges, the crisis in higher education means that increasingly job insecurity and redundancies are posing a threat to everyone.

The shift at UCU isn’t the only sign that the mood towards Labour among education workers is souring. 

The government announced last week that while teachers are to receive a 4% pay rise, schools will be expected to fund around a quarter of the rise themselves. National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede said that this would mean “cuts in service provision to children and young people, job losses, and additional workloads for an already overstretched profession”.

Kebede warned that unless the government committed to funding the pay rise in full, his union would “register a dispute with the government on the issue of funding, and campaign to ensure every parent understands the impact of a cut in the money available to schools, and that every politician understands this too”.