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USS dispute: re-ballot results available now

17 January 2022

If your branch took part in the re-ballots for industrial action over USS, your results are now available at this link, along with a spreadsheet containing all other branches' results. 

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. This applies to every branch apart from those in Northern Ireland. 

Four Fights results coming tomorrow 

I am sorry to report that there has been a delay in processing the results of the Four Fights re-ballots on the part of the independent scrutineer that administers our ballots, which means that we will not be able to report those results to you this evening as originally planned. They will instead be announced tomorrow. 

Summary of USS results 

The turnout across the branches re-balloting for USS was 47.7%, with 7 out of 22 branches achieving a mandate for industrial action. The YES vote for strike action was 81.3% and the YES vote for action short of a strike (ASOS) was 89.9%. The total number of branches that are now in a position to take action in the USS dispute is 44 out of 68. 

To get these results in a relatively short window over the Christmas and New Year period is an amazing achievement on the part of UCU's branches and staff, and it increases the leverage available to us in our dispute.  

This is a strong, unequivocal YES vote by members to take action against the employers' impending cuts on our USS pensions. And if past experience is anything to go by, we can hope to see a similarly strong result from the Four Fights re-ballots once they are available tomorrow. 

You decide our next steps 

Your elected representatives on UCU's higher education committee (HEC) meet this Wednesday, 19 January to decide our next steps. The day before that, branches will send delegates to a branch delegates' meeting to feed in members' views. That feedback will then be reported to HEC and considered as part of its decision making process. 

Please check your inbox tomorrow and in the coming days for further announcements. 
 
Jo Grady 
UCU general secretary 

Last updated: 18 January 2022