Strike action by members of the University and College Union¡¯s own staff is back on after fresh talks with managers failed to deliver significant progress.

The?long-running dispute focuses on claims of racism, breaches of collective agreements and broken industrial relations levelled by Unite, which represents workers at the UK higher education sector¡¯s largest union.

A first day of strike action on 30 May?forced the cancellation of part of the UCU annual congress, but a walkout planned for 26 June was?suspended following ¡°constructive discussions¡±, including a pledge to launch an independent review of the union¡¯s organisational culture.

However, Unite said that talks mediated by Acas and attended by Jo Grady, the UCU general secretary, had resulted in ¡°no tangible offer¡±.

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Strike action planned for 1 and 3 July will now go ahead, Unite said, with 10 and 11 July also pencilled in for walkouts.

A?Times Higher Education?report previously found UCU staff members were concerned managers had cultivated?a ¡°culture of fear¡± in the workplace, amid claims that black staff members had been victimised and discriminated against.

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Posting on X after the latest talks, Unite said that there was a ¡°risk of escalation¡± and claimed UCU had ¡°suggested pausing its recognition agreement¡±.

Unite claimed that UCU was ¡°imposing artificial barriers¡± to participation in a review of race-related issues ¡°by prioritising an unrecognised union¡¯s involvement over black staff¡¯s concern of management de facto having an extra seat at the table¡±.

¡°This dispute and strike vote is about the fight for an anti-racist workplace, a safe and professional workplace, and the importance of trade union values and practices. It is in the interest of all trade unionists that UCU as an employer embodies these values,¡± Unite said.

¡°Our ballot for strike action is a call for real change within UCU and we are determined to bring about this change; the change that UCU staff and UCU members so desperately deserve and so urgently need.¡±

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But a UCU spokesperson called the strike action ¡°unnecessary and unjustified¡±, adding that suggestions that it had threatened Unite¡¯s recognition were ¡°entirely misleading and aimed at increasing support for the course they have decided to take¡±.

¡°The constant moving of negotiating goal posts ¨C most alarmingly to link Unite involvement in discussions around the independent racism review to other points in the dispute ¨C is making reaching a settlement impossible,¡± the UCU spokesperson said.

¡°Nevertheless, UCU continues to be open to talks and remains fully committed to resolving the dispute.¡±

Rose Keeping, a regional officer at Unite, said: ¡°UCU¡¯s undermining of existing industrial recognition agreements, failure to agree key working principles and heavy-handed use of disciplinary procedures have left our members with no choice but to take strike action.¡±

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com