On the go: University staff will walk out at 60 of the UK's higher-education institutions later this month, after a conflict between unions and bosses on pensions and pay failed to reach a resolution.
The eight-day strike running from November 25 to December 4 will be the second time academics have taken industrial action in as many years. Members of the University and College Union will also take non-strike action when they return to work, including "working strictly to contract, not covering for absent colleagues and refusing to reschedule lectures lost to strike action".
The UCU is locked in conflict with employer representative Universities UK over the level of future contributions to the £63bn defined benefit Universities Superannuation Scheme. A 2018 update to the scheme's 2017 valuation significantly reduced the deficit of the scheme to £3.6bn, but disputes between trustees, employers and unions over the contribution schedule and split between staff and sponsors have delayed its finalisation.
The UCU claims the changes mean a typical member will pay in £40,000 more over his or her employment but receive £200,000 less in retirement.
Tensions have been further inflamed by the dismissal of a whistle-blowing member of the USS trustee board. Professor Jane Hutton claimed to have been obstructed in her efforts to uncover the true extent of the scheme's liabilities.
In a ballot concluded last week, 79 per cent of UCU members who voted supported striking over pensions, while 74 per cent supported action over pay, equality, casualisation and workloads. Only the 60 branches that achieved a turnout greater than 50 per cent will take action.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "The first wave of strikes will hit universities later this month unless the employers start talking to us seriously about how they are going to deal with rising pension costs and declining pay and conditions.
"Any general election candidate would be over the moon with a result along the lines of what we achieved last week. Universities can be in no doubt about the strength of feeling on these issues and we will be consulting branches whose desire to strike was frustrated by anti-union laws about reballoting."
Coming shortly before the UK goes to the polls on December 12, debate over the strikes is likely to feature in the general election. Labour MP and shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has already thrown her support behind the UCU members, and called on both sides to re-open negotiations.
Responding to the strike announcement, a spokesperson for employer representative Universities UK said: “We are hopeful that the dispute can be resolved without industrial action; but plans are in place to ensure that any potential disruption to students and staff is minimised. The resolution to the 2018 USS valuation is both fair and reasonable, with the additional costs of maintaining the current level of benefits shared 65:35 by employers and scheme members."
The spokesperson added: “We are committed to ensuring USS remains one of the very best pension schemes in the country, and hope that UCU will now join us to consider governance reforms and alternative options for future valuations, which deliver a shared set of principles, increased transparency and a sustainable scheme.”
