UCU marking boycott to go ahead after members reject offer

Academics at up to 145 UK universities will refuse to mark students’ work or administer assessments after rejecting proposals put forward by employers on pay and conditions.

The action – which could delay graduations – will begin on 20 April after a vote by University and College Union (UCU) members. Of the 36,000 who took part, 56 per cent rejected the offer, which included fresh talks on pay, ending zero-hours contracts and reducing workloads.

In a separate vote on pensions provided by the Universities Superannuation Scheme, 85 per cent of members accepted a commitment from employers to work towards restoring lost benefits, meaning action in this dispute has been paused.

In reality, this will make little difference to students at affected universities because most branches have been taking action as part of both disputes.

Those staff taking part in the marking boycott will cease all summative marking and assessment activities and duties such as exam invigilation until further notice.

UCU recently secured an extension to its mandate, allowing it to call industrial action for a further six months, with 85.6 per cent voting yes on a turnout of 56.4 per cent.

General secretary Jo Grady said staff “have been clear that they want a better deal, and it is in the interests of employers to make an enhanced offer and prevent serious disruption hitting graduations”.

Dr Grady added that the vote on the pensions reforms would “pave the way” to the restoration of benefits.

Changes to the scheme were implemented in April 2022, which the union said had wiped off up to 35 per cent of guaranteed retirement income from the average scheme member.

Since then, the financial picture of the USS has dramatically improved, leading to commitments to reduce contributions and increase benefits.

“When we launched our pensions dispute, university vice-chancellors doubted us and government ministers criticised us,” Dr Grady continued. 

“We were told it was impossible to win back a stolen pension, but today UCU members have proven that it can be done, and we have taken a giant step towards a historic victory that will change lives.”

Raj Jethwa, chief executive of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (Ucea) said the result of the ballot was “not surprising” but pointed out that under a third of the union’s 70,000-strong membership had voted to reject.

“Although two thirds of academics are not actually members of UCU or any union, any threat to hurt students by not assessing their work through the marking and assessment boycott is taken extremely seriously,” he added.

“Despite consistent feedback from HE institutions confirming low and isolated industrial action impacts, HE institutions will again prioritise mitigations to support students.”

Mr Jethwa said Ucea was committed to working with the trade unions to “positively reset industrial relations in our sector” and said the opportunity for talks “remains in place on the understanding that no further industrial action is called”.

A spokeswoman for Universities UK, which represents USS employers, said it would “continue to work collaboratively and constructively with the union on our shared commitments for the future of the USS pension scheme.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com