This is a lightly edited version of an an email sent to Durham UCU members this morning.
Durham UCU will ballot for industrial action in a local dispute over workloads and job security in the coming weeks. The ballot will open on 15 January 2026. Members will shortly receive postal ballots from an independent scrutineer. Please return your ballot as soon as possible, to arrive no later than 6 February.
We ask that you vote YES to strike action and YES to action short of strike.
Vote YES for manageable workloads and job security
In 2025, Durham UCU declared a dispute over senior management’s refusal to engage constructively with the union over untenable workloads and worsening job insecurity.
Management’s unilateral decision-making, including the widespread use of voluntary severance schemes to manage operating costs, has eroded relations. Slashing over 200 roles without protecting the workloads of those who remain has increased demands on staff.
Durham UCU asked the employer to negotiate on workload and job security. Absent meaningful progress, we asked the employer to follow our agreed dispute resolution process. Management refused.
The employer’s intransigence continues to undermine meaningful or constructive collaboration with trade union representatives. We are balloting to bring them to the negotiating table. Staff deserve
- timely action to ensure manageable workloads and
- assurance that their jobs are secure.
Experience shows that a mandate for industrial action can produce agreements that have led to tangible improvements for all staff.
We seek approval for action short of strike (ASOS) because it is not right that the employer depends on our goodwill to go above and beyond without fair compensation, while senior management pay increases. Balloting on strike action allows us to choose to further increase pressure on the employer, if necessary.
Ongoing engagement with members
From speaking with and surveying members, we have learned that untenable workloads and worsening job insecurity are important issues.
As ever, decisions about the timing and form of any industrial action under a future mandate will be taken in consultation with members.
Join us at the next General Meeting on Wednesday, January 28 2025 from 15.00 to 16.00, at the usual Zoom link, to discuss the next steps. Please note the afternoon start time.
Details of the Zoom link and two other general meetings scheduled this term, with a calendar invitation, have been sent with the email version of this announcement.
All DUCU members are welcome at branch General Meetings.
We will have an update from the DUCU representatives to the Joint Consultative and Negotiating Committee (JCNG), and we’ll have more to say about the ballot, including more details on timelines and what you can do to help.
We encourage you and your colleagues to vote YES to both forms of action.
Timetable and returning your ballot
The ballot will open on 15 January 2026. Complete and post your ballot paper as soon as possible so it gets to the independent scrutineer Civica no later than noon on 6 February 2026. More details, including how and when to request replacement ballots, will be shared in the coming days.
This timetable would allow us to choose to take action during Epiphany Term 2026, as asked for by members. So don’t delay in posting your ballot back using the pre-paid envelope!
Once you’ve voted, let us know on Godric or by dropping an email to voting@durhamucu.org.uk so that we won’t keep chasing you with email, text, call, and door knock reminders.
While we recommend that you vote YES to strike action and vote YES to action short of strike, we do not ask you to report how you’ve voted: only that you’ve voted.
It’s how we met the anti-union threshold during the last (national) ballot, and it’s how we’ll are going to do it again this January.
Please take a minute now and sign into My UCU and check that your address is correct to minimise delays in receiving your ballot paper.