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Union hits back at government proposals to limit strikes ahead of vote at funder
An employee at UK Research and Innovation has warned that staff are “at breaking point” ahead of a strike ballot at the national funder.
The warning came as a union representing UKRI staff hit back at proposals from the government to curb strikes.
“We are at breaking point and strike action is the only way I can see that may bring about change,” a UKRI employee who did not wish to be named told Research Professional News.
“Over the last decade our pay has significantly declined in real terms. We struggle to recruit and retain technical staff, leaving those remaining trying to do even more.”
They added that they did not blame UKRI as “their hands are tied by government pay policy”.
A spokesperson for UKRI said: “We respect the right of colleagues to take industrial action. UKRI will work to understand the impact of any action and will seek to minimise any potential disruption to our operations.”
Winter of strikes
UKRI is just one of many public sector bodies finding itself forced to contend with strikes, as staff rail against pay rise offers lower than inflation in government, the NHS and transport.
Prospect members, including employees at UKRI, are due to vote later this month on strikes over pay, threats of job losses and a proposed cut to redundancy terms. An indicative ballot of members in December revealed that most Prospect members at the funder were in favour of strike action.
On 5 January the government said it was contacting unions involved in ongoing disputes over public sector pay and conditions to invite them to “sit down and discuss the evidence that the government will be submitting to the pay review bodies”. The government is also planning new strike laws to limit the right to strike in some sectors.
Responding to the government’s invitation to talks, Mike Clancy general secretary of Prospect pointed out that most public sector workers, including those at UKRI, are not covered by a pay review body, which provide the government with advice each year on pay for public sector workers.
“We have been calling for years for this to be rectified, something which the government has consistently ignored,” he said.
“Our members have already indicated their willingness to take industrial action and there is nothing in this announcement that will persuade us not to proceed to a formal ballot as planned.”
Lifting the cap
In April 2022, the Cabinet Office announced that pay rises throughout the civil service, including departments, non-ministerial departments and agencies, as well as for public sector workers in non-departmental public bodies would be capped at 3 per cent, despite rising inflation.
Research Professional News understands that UKRI has submitted a business case to government that could enable it to offer pay rises above 3 per cent but agreement between the two bodies has not been reached.
Research Professional News has approached the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for comment.
A version of this article appeared in Research Fortnight