The University and College Union (UCU) has threatened to escalate its campaign against cuts to higher education funding by starting an industrial dispute with the education minister.  

In what would be an unprecedented move, the UK’s largest academic union said it was exploring options that could see a sector-wide strike called as part of efforts to get the government to address the “underlying financial issues” that are “plaguing” the sector.

Delegates at the union’s annual congress in Liverpool voted to take action after months of job losses affecting universities across the country.

The union, which usually targets its industrial action against the employer body, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, has been searching for a way to come up with a coordinated national response against the wave of redundancies.

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It argues that because the secretary of state, Bridget Phillipson, determines the funding model for higher education in England, she is a legitimate subject for a dispute.

Members were told that “recent legal advice commissioned by UCU members shows the viability of a trade dispute with the secretary of state over the funding of HE”.

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It would put the union on a collision course with the Labour government, in the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the two parties.

UCU said that the government “continues to cling to a boom or bust model in which the financial stability of institutions is dependent on hoovering up students”, noting that it has recently slashed funding for specialist provision by over £100 million, as well as proposed a levy on international students, which would take away income from cash-strapped providers.��

Up to 10,000 jobs could be lost from the sector this year alone, UCU has claimed, with a number of universities now moving to compulsory redundancies. Some 16 university unions have now voted in favour of strike action in response.

A trade dispute against Phillipson could amplify this however, by allowing the union to hold an aggregated ballot which, if passed, would allow all branches to go out on strike.

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Members have previously shown little enthusiasm for a strike over pay, even after receiving a low offer of 1.4 per cent this year, but could be more motivated to take part in a national effort to protect jobs.

The motion outlining the idea was proposed by the UCU branches at Queen Mary University of London, Essex and Goldsmiths and was backed “overwhelmingly” by members, UCU said.

Jo Grady, general secretary of UCU, said it was “shameful” that university cuts have become so severe under a Labour government “that our union is now laying the ground for a trade union dispute with the education secretary”.

“Our members are fighting to protect jobs and UK academia’s world-leading reputation. But we are being hamstrung by a government that has refused to deal with the underlying financial issues plaguing our sector and now seems intent on making the crisis worse still with new cuts, levies, and restrictions on recruitment,” she added.

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“The prime minister and chancellor must stop standing in the way of proper funding for our universities. This vote sends them a crystal-clear message: if you refuse to listen to the educators responsible for the world-leading reputation of Britain’s universities, then you must be prepared to face a potential strike ballot.”

The government is expected to outline its response to higher education funding when it publishes its spending review in June.  

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com