Latest update on UCU national industrial action
Industrial action
Industrial action
Update on 5 January 2024
The University and College Union (UCU) balloted their members in November about renewing the mandate to take national industrial action over pay and working conditions. The results show that the turnout for the ballot was 42.6% - this is below the legally required 50% minimum threshold needed to support strike action. On the basis of this outcome, no industrial action will be taken.
We would like to acknowledge the constructive engagement between the University and the Committee of the Exeter UCU, with local talks continuing.
Compensation scheme
The Industrial Action Compensation Scheme, for students who have been impacted by industrial action during the 2022/23 academic year, is now closed to applicants. All remaining submitted applications will be considered and a response issued within four weeks of the application. You can find further information on our web page and the FAQ below.
Please remember, our Wellbeing Services in Exeter and Cornwall are available to help you with free advice, guidance and support should you need it. You can also find further details in the FAQ below.
If you have questions about your own specific situation, please contact industrialaction@exeter.ac.uk.
Information on the 2022/23 industrial action
No, as part of our commitment to ensure no students incur additional academic costs as a result of the industrial action, we have waived all referral fees for all students for assessment resits arising from the academic year 2022/23, regardless of whether or not the referral is related to the Marking and Assessment boycott.
In addition, we will waive tuition fees for those students repeating study during the next academic year (2023/24) because of the impact of industrial action in the academic year 2022/23.
We understand that this may be a concerning or upsetting time. Please do reach out for support if you need it:
Students based in Devon
Support for you
There are sources of support available to you for both academic or marking/assessment concerns and for any emotional impact this may have.
Academic Support
If you have an academic question about your personal circumstances, please email industrialaction@exeter.ac.uk. We have colleagues on hand who will be able to review your current situation with you and offer personalised guidance or advice.
When you receive your results, your Hub/Info Point will be able to advise on certain academic queries, such as what your outcome means for you and support you in understanding the University’s policy. Our Hub/Info Points are open for walk-in, telephone or SID enquiries from 9am until 5pm Monday-Friday.
Wellbeing Support
If you have concerns about the impact of the Marking and Assessment boycott on your emotional, mental health or wellbeing, you can book a drop-in with wellbeing services here. Wellbeing Services also has instant chat available from 2pm-4pm Monday to Friday throughout the summer, available through this link.
If you are under Health and Wellbeing Support for Study or have been receiving regular support from your Education Welfare team, please find information on how to make contact with them or book an appointment here. The Education Welfare Team also has an instant chat advice service available to all, and you can book a meeting with them using this link.
Students based in Cornwall
Support for you
There are sources of support available to you for both academic or marking/assessment concerns and for any emotional impact this may have.
Academic Support
If you have an academic question about your personal circumstances, please email industrialaction@exeter.ac.uk. We have colleagues on hand who will be able to review your current situation with you and offer personalised guidance or advice.
When you receive your results, Penryn Information Point will be able to advise on certain academic queries, such as what your outcome means for you and support you in understanding the University’s policy. The Information Point on Penryn campus is open for walk-in or telephone queries from 9am until 5pm Monday-Friday and you can book an appointment here.
Wellbeing Support
If you have concerns about the impact of the Marking and Assessment boycott, you can drop in to see the student support team. Visit The Compass helpdesk located in the library, call 01326 370460, or email studentservices@fxplus.ac.uk to book. The team also has a 24/7 helpline open 365 days a year and talking therapies you can access by calling 0800 0318227 or by Whatsapp: text “Hi” to 07418360780.
If you are under Health and Wellbeing Support for Study or have been receiving regular support from your Education Welfare team, please find information on how to make contact with them on their website.
The Education Welfare Team also has an Instant Chat advice service for all, or you can book an appointment with them using this link.
The Industrial Action Compensation Scheme was introduced to provide compensation as a gesture of good will to students who have been impacted by industrial action, either in the form of strikes and/or the marking and assessment boycott, during the 2022/23 academic year. The scheme is now closed to applicants (as of Friday 5 January 2024). All remaining submitted applications will be considered and a response issued within four weeks of the application. You can find further information on our web page.
Postgraduate Research students who have been impacted should contact the Doctoral College for their case for compensation to be considered, on an individual basis.
Information about the national disputes
During the 2022/23 academic year, some members of the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) took industrial action in the form of strikes and/or action short of a strike, including a marking and assessment boycott in relation to two national disputes. The industrial action in relation to the national dispute about changes to the national Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which came into effect in April 2022, covered more than 60 higher education institutions and was paused in spring 2023 (see FAQ on pensions below). The industrial action in relation to the national dispute on UCU's 2022/23 claim for pay and working conditions for university staff, which covers more than 140 institutions, ends on 30 September 2023. UCU is currently balloting for national industrial action in relation to the 2023/24 national negotiations on pay and conditions. For more information about the two disputes, click on the questions below.
The University of Exeter's Executive Board and Exeter UCU (EUCU) agree the time, energy, and effort going into a stalemate is not beneficial for our community and we have jointly strongly encouraged the national UCU and UCEA to re-engage to address the areas that we are working on locally, as detailed in our progress update on the January 2023 joint statement.
Recognising the cost-of-living pressures facing colleagues, higher education employers brought forward the 2023-24 national pay negotiations. In January 2023 UCEA, representing more than 140 participating HE employers, made a pay offer which prioritised the disproportionate effect of high inflation on colleagues on the lower part of the national payspine, with a minimum increase of 5% for all other members of staff.
Part of this increase was implemented in February 2023, with the balance be applied from in August 2023. (National pay uplifts are normally implemented in August each year.)
National talks facilitated by Acas led to joint statements being issued on 17 February, 2 March and 14 March. These talks recognised that nations discussions on pay had reached “an impasse, rather than an agreement”. The talks, which have now concluded, led to terms of reference for further time limited national negotiations on a review of the national pay spine, workload, contract types and pay gaps. (See “What are higher education employers / the University of Exeter doing about working conditions?” below.)
UCEA has advised trade unions that the 2023-24 is at the limit of affordability for the sector and that given the current financial situation there is no possibility of this being revised. UCEA has offered to work with trade unions to conduct an independent review of sector affordability.
At Exeter, our joint University and Exeter UCU statements in January and June 2023 confirm the value the close working relationship we have with our campus trades unions. These statements set out the actions we have taken and further actions we are committed to taking.
To date, we implemented the increase to the Living Wage Foundation’s Living Wage in September 2022 (earlier than the normal date of November), providing an increase of approximately 10% for colleagues in grades B and C. We implemented other changes to grades B to F in November 2022, benefiting around 60% of colleagues - more info on this is online.
We are committed to a further ongoing review of salaries paid by our competitors to identify any roles or grades which should be priorities for further changes, recognising budget pressures, to ensure that the University is able to recruit and retain staff and deliver its strategic priorities and an excellent student experience.
The University and Exeter UCU have jointly encouraged all parties to re-engage with the national pay spine review proposed following national talks facilitated by Acas in the Spring and to start a conversation about the university sector’s finances with the aim of reaching a mutual understanding ahead of the 2024/5 pay round starting in January 2024. We welcome the recent announcement that UCU have accepted UCEA’s invitation to participate in a joint review of sector finances.
In Spring 2023 UCU members voted to move forward with pension proposals agreed with employers (set out in the joint UCU and Universities UK (UUK) statements of 17 February and 15 March. These proposals look to return the USS pensions scheme to a comparable level of future benefits as existed before the April 2022 changes, and to achieve a reduction in costs for members and employers, should the forthcoming 2023 valuation allow.
UUK and UCU have also agreed to work together so that the 2023 valuation (and future valuations) are undertaken on a moderately prudent and evidence-based basis, taking account of the open and long-term nature of the scheme.
The independent USS Trustee has agreed to complete the valuation within an accelerated timetable, with a view to achieving positive benefit change from April 2024.
The USS Trustee has been consulting with UUK, as representative of employers in the Scheme, on the Technical Provisions for the 2023 valuation. On 26 September 2023, a consultation will begin with members of the Scheme on proposed changes to Scheme benefits, to be brought into effect from April 2024.
UUK are also working with UCU on a constructive dialogue with the Pensions Regulator and the Department for Work and Pensions, taking account of the long-term nature of the USS scheme and the unique nature of the Higher Education sector. This includes submitting a joint response (with the independent USS Trustee) to the Pension Regulator’s consultation on the Defined Benefit (DB) funding code.
Joint work is continuing on low-cost options for employees who want more flexible pension contributions.
At Exeter, we are continuing to progress our Fair Employment For All initiative, which this has led to improved working arrangements for Postgraduate Research Students employed as Postgraduate Teaching Associates and more than 750 staff on fixed term contracts being converted to open-ended appointments. The University will continue to work with EUCU to review and reduce the use of non-permanent contracts in teaching and introduce a new procedure for staff employed on successive fixed term contracts or engaged over at least 3 successive years on eClaims to seek a review of their contact status. We will also work together to review arrangements for colleagues employed on externally funded projects to move between positions in order to maintain their experience within the University and provide greater continuity of employment. Our aim is for non-permanent contracts to be the exception.
The University and EUCU welcome the improvement of the University of Exeter Gender Pay Gap in 2022. (Progress on closing the equality pay gaps are shared online.) The University will continue to work with trade unions and other stakeholders, through our equality groups, to progress and monitor the commitments set out in the Race Equality Charter and our Athena Swan accreditations and action plans which will have a positive impact on the student and staff experience, and address historic inequalities in staff salaries. We will work together to ensure the positive contribution Our Culture Conversation can make in appropriately identifying further improvements to colleagues’ working environment is realised and together monitor the effectiveness of actions
The University and EUCU will continue to work together to review the effectiveness of the implementation of the new University academic workload principles, which have been agreed by the University Executive Board following recommendations from a working group chaired by Professor Alex Gerbasi, which included representation from EUCU. Currently, a similar development of principles for Professional Services is underway. The University will continue to work with trade unions, locally and nationally, to share, develop, implement and review principles and best practice for the management of the workloads of academic and Professional Services colleagues sector-wide
Our commitment to further joint working with UCU on these issues is set out in our Joint University and Exeter UCU statements in January and June 2023.
While national negotiations agree changes to the national payspine and non-pay issues are negotiated at institution level, the higher education employers’ organisation, UCEA, has offered joint work with trade unions to develop guidance on good practice on employment contracts, workload and pay equality, for implementation at local level. Further time-limited national negotiations on these issues were agreed with trade union negotiators in the spring (see the joint statements issued on 17 February, 2 March and 14 March., but subsequently rejected in an e-ballot of UCU members. UCEA has confirmed its readiness to re-engage with trade unions on these terms of reference.
The University and Exeter UCU (EUCU) strongly encourage re-engagement with the terms of reference agreed at Acas as we believe these have the potential to lead to meaningful change for the sector.
The University and the Guild and Students’ Union will work in partnership to determine how best to use the pay that is withheld from colleagues who participate in strike action. As in previous years, we will ensure that funds are allocated to initiatives that directly benefit our students and enhance their experience and wellbeing. Further information, including details of how the funds have been allocated, will be shared in due course.