The UK’s main academic union has “learnt from the past” and will run an “aggressive” campaign to convince members to back taking unprecedented strike action this autumn, its general secretary has said.
While gearing up to again fight university leaders on many fronts, Jo Grady has insisted she does not see a risk in switching to a sector-wide ballot that will determine whether all or none of the University and College Union’s branches can participate in industrial action.
In an interview with Times Higher Education, she said she was confident that the union would “far surpass” the necessary turnout of 50 per cent, predicting that anger among members over cuts to pensions and the cost-of-living crisis will replace disillusionment with a lack of progress in the disputes to date.
