Extraordinary General Meeting, Wed 31 October, to discuss pay and equality ballot and next steps

This is a calling notice for an Extraordinary General Meeting for Wednesday 31 October, 1pm to discuss the outcome of the pay and equality ballot and any other urgent business. (Location to be confirmed).

Members voted for strike action and action short of a strike in record numbers at UCL. 

• We received a 76% vote for strike action and an 88% vote for action short of a strike in the national pay ballot. This was the largest ever vote for strike action over pay at UCL, and a record vote for ASOS over the same issue.*

Had this ballot taken place before the Conservatives' Trade Union Act 2016, this would be the end of the story. However, now trade unions have to meet another threshold. Not only must members vote in their majority for specific action designated on a ballot paper, but the majority of union members issued with ballot papers must participate in the ballot. 

• In the case of UCL, some 1,100 members voted, out of 2,631 members balloted, a turnout of 42% (UCL and IOE branches combined). 

Unfortunately, as the turnout is below 50%, the entire ballot is invalid. Across the country, 7 branches got over a 50% turnout.

This double threshold is the legalised theft of a democratic process. It is worth reminding ourselves that no participation threshold exists in any other election or referendum in the UK. There is no participation threshold for elections for Westminster, for example. Three years ago when the Trade Union Bill was first announced, we warned that the effect of this Bill (now Act) would be that it would become more difficult for your trade union to take industrial action over national issues. 

We managed to achieve so much in our USS pension dispute that it is easy to forget the practical problems of paper postal ballots. After the USS ballot some colleagues said they did not vote. The main reason they said they did not vote is that they simply lost the ballot paper, or no-one reminded them of the deadline.

Our turnout was the highest ever achieved over any pay campaign in percentage terms. (Thanks to the union's substantially increased membership, it was also the highest ever achieved in absolute terms.)

But it is not enough to take lawful industrial action now in pursuit of the pay and equality campaign.

We need to debate where our pay campaign goes from here. We can re-ballot, and rebuild the campaign but it will clearly require a serious effort to do so. 

Your Executive wants to hear your views. We need to debate this matter collectively and democratically.

Please put 31 October in your diary for the EGM. There will be a national conference on HE Pay on 7 November, to which we will wish to send motions and delegates. 

All members are welcome.