Staff at 36 UK universities back further strike action in ballot over pay and working conditions

• More than seven in ten (74%) back strikes
• Employers more intransigent than ever, UCU says
• Union's members holding meeting later this month to decide next steps

Staff at thirty-six UK universities have voted in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay and working conditions which could see higher education hit by further disruption this academic year.

Overall, over seven in ten of those who voted (74%) backed strike action with over eight in ten (85.9%) voting for action short of strike. The vote in favour of strike action is higher than it was during the ballots that concluded in November last year, where 70.1% backed strike action.

Today's results come ahead of the conclusion of a ballot over pension cuts, the results of which are expected tomorrow.

Today's results mean that staff at 39 universities have a mandate to take strike action over pay and working conditions which will last until October 2022. Staff at Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University did not take part in the reballots but will join any possible action as their mandate remains live. Queen Mary University of London has a live mandate until July.

For action short of a strike (ASOS), 38 universities beat the 50% legal threshold and voted in favour of action, meaning 43 in total now have a live mandate for ASOS inclusive of Queen's University Belfast, Ulster University, Stranmillis University College, St Mary's University College Belfast, and Queen Mary University of London.

In the pay and working conditions dispute, staff have already taken 13 days of strike action this academic year alongside action short of a strike consisting of working to contract and not taking on additional duties. However, university employers represented by Universities and Colleges Employers Association have refused to make improved offers or even enter negotiations with UCU.

On 20 April, UCU will be holding a special higher education sector conference on the pay and working conditions disputes. Members and branches are being invited to discuss and vote on how the new mandate for action might be used.

New inflation figures mean UCU estimates staff pay is now down by more than a quarter in real terms since 2009. Over 70k academics are employed on insecure contracts. The gender pay gap in UK universities sits at 16%, whilst the disability pay gap is 9% and the race pay gap is up to 17%.

In the pay and working conditions dispute the union is demanding a £2.5k pay rise for all university employees; an end to race, gender and disability pay injustice; a framework to eliminate zero-hours and other insecure contracts; and meaningful action to tackle unmanageable workloads.

In a recent survey of UK higher education staff, two thirds said they were considering leaving the sector over pay and working conditions, and cuts to pensions.

The most recently published vice chancellor salaries show university bosses earn around £278k, almost ten times more than entry level academic or academic related professional staff.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'More than seven in ten UCU members have again voted in favour of strike action, which is a damning indictment of the way vice-chancellors run universities and treat their staff.

'Pay for university workers has fallen by over a quarter in real-terms since 2009 whilst tens of thousands are exploited on precarious contracts and a workload crisis goes unresolved. Even during this almost unprecedented cost of living crisis, vice-chancellors on eye watering salaries - who manage institutions sitting on tens of billions of pounds in reserves - have shown zero willingness to listen to their staff and are more intransigent than ever.

'Our union will now be taking these latest ballot results to a special meeting of its higher education sector where members will discuss how they wish to use this new mandate for action.'

Full results are available here.

The 36 universities which voted in favour of strike action and passed the legal 50% threshold in the ballot over pay and working conditions are:
Birkbeck, University of London
Bournemouth University
Brighton, University of
Cardiff University
Chester, University of
Courtauld Institute of Art
Dundee, The University of
Durham University
Edinburgh Napier University
Edinburgh, University of
Essex, University of
Exeter, University of
Glasgow, University of
Goldsmiths, University of London
Greenwich, University of
Heriot-Watt University
Keele University
King's College London
Kingston University
Leeds, The University of
Liverpool, University of
Loughborough University
Newcastle University
Northampton, The University of
Nottingham, The University of
Royal College of Art
Royal Northern College of Music
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield, The University of
SOAS, University of London
Southampton, University of
St Andrews, University of
Sussex, University of
UCA - University for the Creative Arts
University of the Arts London
Westminster, University of

The 38 universities which voted in favour of action short of a strike and passed the legal 50% threshold in the ballot over pay and working conditions are:
Birkbeck, University of London
Bournemouth University
Brighton, University of
Cardiff University
Chester, University of
Courtauld Institute of Art
Dundee, The University of
Durham University
Edinburgh Napier University
Edinburgh, University of
Essex, University of
Exeter, University of
Glasgow, University of
Goldsmiths, University of London
Greenwich, University of
Heriot-Watt University
Keele University
King's College London
Kingston University
Leeds, The University of
Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA)
Liverpool, University of
Loughborough University
Newcastle University
Northampton, The University of
Nottingham, The University of
Queen Margaret University
Royal College of Art
Royal Northern College of Music
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield, The University of
SOAS, University of London
Southampton, University of
St Andrews, University of
Sussex, University of
UCA - University for the Creative Arts
University of the Arts London
Westminster, University of