Staff at Falmouth University have overwhelmingly voted in favour of strike action in a long running dispute over management's creation of a two-tier workforce. The ballot result comes after the employer made the unilateral decision to start employing all new academic staff on worse terms and conditions through a subsidiary company.
90% of UCU members who voted said YES to strike action. The overall turnout was 62%, easily clearing the 50% threshold imposed by Tory anti-union legislation. UCU said the result is an emphatic rejection of Falmouth University's plans.
Falmouth University has created a wholly owned subsidiary, Falmouth Staffing Ltd (FSL), to employ all academic staff under worse employment terms than existing staff, including a greatly inferior pension scheme. The creation of a two-tier workforce has very serious implications for all staff, as the subsidiary company is not part of national bargaining arrangements between unions and the University and Colleges Employers Association. UCU said the new subsidiary company is an attack on hard won national agreements.
