Notice of USS ballot results

Your branch's results in the USS industrial action ballot are now available at this link, along with a spreadsheet containing all other branches' results in the USS ballot.

Please note that a branch needs a turnout (that is, votes cast in the ballot as a % of individuals who were entitled to vote) of 50%, as well as a majority YES vote, before it can legally take part in industrial action in this dispute. This applies to every branch apart from those in Northern Ireland.

The turnout across all branches was 53% - the same as in our last USS ballot in 2019.

The YES vote for strike action was 76% and the YES vote for action short of a strike (ASOS) was 88%.

However, because of the 50% turnout requirement introduced by the Conservative government in 2016, the total number of branches that are currently in a position to take action is 37 out of the 68 that are in the dispute.

To get these results in the incredibly short window of three weeks which our higher education sector conference and higher education committee voted for is an amazing achievement on the part of UCU's branches and staff. For comparison, the USS and Four Fights ballots in 2019 lasted eight weeks. No other union has ever tried to ballot in two massive disputes covering over 150 employers at once - let alone in such a short window.

What these results mean

This is a strong, unequivocal YES vote to take action against the massive cuts which employers are imposing on pensions.

37 branches over the threshold is an excellent start, but in my view our priority should be to reballot branches that narrowly missed the threshold to make sure we have the leverage necessary to win this dispute.

22 branches achieved a turnout between 40% and 50%. I strongly believe we should seek to hold reballots in those branches, and get as many as possible over the threshold before we consider calling extended strike action.

Members have sent a democratic signal with these ballot results that we need to use every type of action available to us, including ASOS and other forms of campaigning in addition to strike action. We also need to see these results as evidence that we all still have further campaigning to do in our branches to win everyone over, as not all members are yet convinced that strike action is the best way to proceed. The closing of the ballot signals the start of more work - not the end.

You decide our next steps

I have made my thoughts clear, but only your elected representatives on the higher education committee (HEC) can formally decide our next steps. HEC meets on the afternoon of Friday 12 November to do that.

But before the HEC meets, every member in every branch has an opportunity to steer the HEC's decisions on crucial questions including:

• whether to take any strike action this term
• whether to reballot and in how many branches
• when to reballot.
   

Shortly after the results of the Four Fights dispute have been published tomorrow, each branch will be sent questions to consult members on. Branches will then send delegates to branch delegates' meetings, one for the USS dispute and one for the Four Fights dispute, on the morning before HEC meets on Friday 12 November, to report and vote in line with their members' collective position. You can read more about this process at this link.

Four Fights results tomorrow

We won't know exactly what to make of these results until we have the results of the Four Fights ballots, which covers 146 branches. We will receive those results tomorrow and announce them to members as soon as possible. But having met with thousands of members over the last month and witnessed the efforts you are putting in on the ground, I am confident we will see equally good results tomorrow.

The bottom line is that we have taken a strong first step with today's results, but there will be more hard work over the coming weeks and months to achieve the level of organisation needed to defend our pensions and win the victory you deserve.

Jo Grady
UCU general secretary