UCU’s national pay ballot and a string of local industrial disputes are converging into a broader labor threat across UK higher education. The national ballot—aimed at securing a mandate for sector-wide action over a 1.4% pay offer—runs amid local strikes and job-cut fights at campuses including Lancaster, where teaching and research staff announced two days of strike action over planned redundancies affecting 400 posts as the university seeks £30m in savings. Union leaders describe the strikes as last-resort responses to cuts, pay erosion, and restructuring; employers warn of limited fiscal headroom and argue national demands exceed negotiation scope. If turnout thresholds for national ballots are met, coordinated action could magnify pressure on university budgets and student services. Governance teams and HR directors should ready contingency plans for industrial action, communications strategies for students and funders, and scenario-based financial modeling to assess recruitment and retention impacts. Clarification: A national ballot requires thresholds for turnout and affirmative votes to authorize lawful industrial action under UK trade-union law.