The University and College Union was due to open two parallel ballots for industrial action ¨C one on job security and pay and another on pensions ¨C on 2 February.

But this week, the union wrote to universities asking them to ¡°disregard¡± the notices of intention to ballot that it had sent earlier.

The original notices referred to the launch of the ballots on ¡°2 February 2010¡± rather than 2011, and to the fact that the union had generated its list of members to be balloted on ¡°24 January 2010¡±.

Asked whether the typos were to blame for the withdrawal of the notices, Michael MacNeil, the UCU¡¯s head of higher education, said: ¡°I can confirm that there will be a new start date for the ballots, with fresh notice being given to the institutions. The end dates will remain the same. It would be inappropriate to comment further.¡±

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The ballots, which could lead to higher education¡¯s first national strikes since 2006, are scheduled to close on 2 March.

Unions are keenly aware of the growing threat to industrial action posed by legal action from employers, often taken over technical details of the balloting process.

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The UCU sent an email amending the errors, but it may have decided to withdraw the notices to avoid the risk of industrial action being derailed by legal fights over a minor detail.

The ballot on the 2010-11 national pay and conditions offer was sparked by the UCU¡¯s unhappiness over the employers¡¯ 0.4 per cent pay offer ¨C below inflation for the second successive year ¨C and their refusal to agree a national deal on avoiding redundancies.

The ballot on the Universities Superannuation Scheme came after the UCU rejected the employers¡¯ plans to end final-salary pensions for new entrants, to introduce a pension age of 65 for all members and to link pension increases to a lower rate of inflation.

In its posters urging members to vote ¡°yes¡± in the ballots, the UCU says that 40,000 jobs are at risk across the sector, that pensions are ¡°under attack¡± and that the pay offer represents a real-terms cut.

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john.morgan@tsleducation.com