The University and College Union (UCU) released a press
statement threatening rolling strikes and the boycott of student
assessment by thousands of lecturers from Monday on. Reason for the
dispute: changes in the lecturers' pension plans which may make
lecturers worse off on retirement.
Press statement UCU
"A sustained campaign of industrial action by members of UCU in
67 of the UK's best-known universities will start on Monday (10
October).
The action will commence with UCU members 'working to contract'.
This means they will simply work to the terms of their contract
(including their obligation to perform their duties in an efficient
manner). If that does not force negotiations then the union warned
that the action would escalate to rolling strikes and a boycott of
student assessment.
This morning the union said universities should play their part
in breaking the impasse on negotiations and help bring about a
swift resolution to the action. The 67 institutions affected
include all the Russell Group universities and over 1 million
students could be hit if the action escalates.
The union has been frustrated by the employers' negotiators'
steadfast refusal to negotiate and said it does not believe that
hawkish stance is shared by all universities. UCU said it would
review the work to contract action at universities that publicly
call upon the employers to negotiate and do not subject members to
punitive and unfair salary deductions.
The dispute is about changes to the Universities Superannuation
Scheme (USS) pension scheme - the second largest private scheme in
the UK. Scheme members are furious that changes they vehemently
opposed were imposed on 1 October. Those changes will see them pay
more to work longer with less protection should they lose their
job.
In two referendums over 90% of scheme members who voted, voted
against the changes and in the industrial action ballot over
three-quarters (77%) of UCU members backed the sustained industrial
action campaign.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'We are keen to resolve
this dispute as quickly as possible with minimal disruption.
However, you cannot negotiate with an empty chair. The university
employers have tried every tactic in the book from slick PR and
misleading adverts to direct intimidation and legal threats against
union negotiators.
'If they had focused just a fraction of the time they have spent
trying to force these unpopular changes through on negotiating
properly, we would not be in this position. We want to negotiate
and hope those universities keen to avoid unnecessary confrontation
and disruption will start to apply pressure on those refusing to
talk.'"