The University and College Union has outlined a timetable for industrial action at UK universities later this year, demanding concrete action from employers to improve pay and secure pensions.
Strike action was first raised as a possibility earlier this month when the union warned participating employers not to water down benefits or raise contributions for USS members, but on Friday its higher education committee set out a formal timetable for the walkouts.
If employers do not satisfy UCU's conditions, ballots on both pensions and pay will run from September 9 to October 30. The HEC will then meet to consider the results on November 1.
If members vote for industrial action, it would be the second time strikes have been used in less than three years - lecturers and other staff walked out in early 2018, in some cases meaning universities had to compensate students for missed teaching hours.
Since then, disagreement has rumbled on over the actuarial valuation of USS and the consequences for members, despite a joint expert panel being appointed to review the assumptions used.
Tensions bubbled over when USS suspended a whistle-blowing member of its trustee board, Professor Jane Hutton, who had claimed to have been obstructed in her efforts to uncover the true extent of the scheme's liabilities. Meanwhile, the UCU says pay has fallen 21 per cent in real terms over the last decade.
UCU head of higher education Paul Bridge said: ‘Pay has been held down for too long and USS members are running out of patience. Every day seems to bring some new damning revelation about USS. Their response has been wholly inadequate, as has that of Universities UK. If universities are not prepared to work with us on pay and pensions, then they will face serious disruption later this year.’
Select committee investigates
MPs are now raising questions of their own about Professor Hutton's findings and her treatment by the scheme and the Pensions Regulator.*
Frank Field, chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, has written to TPR chief executive Charles Counsell with a series of questions about the regulator’s handling of the issue.
A union-appointed member trustee of USS, Professor Hutton had raised concerns about a substantial error in the 2017 valuation of the pension scheme, which influenced a rise in member contributions.
The committee is querying why it took TPR until April 3 this year – five months after the whistle-blower consented to being identified, and nearly a year after the concerns were raised – to write to the USS about these concerns.
It is increasingly likely that we're heading towards a further wave of industrial action in higher education
Dr Sam Marsh, University and College Union
It has also asked the regulator to respond to the USS Joint Expert Panel’s conclusion that “TPR appeared to have a disproportionate influence on the valuation and may have steered the employer”.
Professor Hutton has been suspended from her position as a director trustee. Commenting, Sir David Eastwood, chair of the USS trustee board, said: “It is with regret that we have been forced to suspend one of our colleagues and we await the conclusion of the independent investigation before considering the next steps.
“We are saddened by Professor Hutton’s recent statements, having worked very closely with her over an extended period of time to understand her concerns, but the board is clear in its view that her allegations have no material impact on decisions relating to recent valuations.”
A Universities UK spokesperson said: “While employers are keen to avoid a further damaging dispute, it is clear that a ‘No detriment’ solution where employers and members refuse to pay additional contributions will not be acceptable to the USS Trustee or The Pensions Regulator. We continue to seek a conclusion to the valuation that all stakeholders can support.
“We understand that the decision to suspend Professor Hutton was taken unanimously by the USS Trustee board – which has other UCU-nominated directors. We have asked The Pensions Regulator and USS to keep stakeholders updated on this matter.”
Industrial action returns to the table
Dr Sam Marsh, university teacher in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sheffield, and branch president of Sheffield UCU and a national negotiator on USS, commented: “Professor Hutton’s whistleblowing appears to have been borne out of desperation in the face of persistent obstruction from within USS and a lack of action from TPR in response to her concerns.
“Scheme members have no confidence in the way USS is being governed under David Eastwood and Bill Galvin, and are now also left questioning whether the regulator is properly looking after their interests,” Dr Marsh added.
The Higher Education Committee of the UCU is meeting on Friday to discuss its next steps, which could include a possible ballot for strike action.
Dr Marsh said: “It is increasingly likely that we’re heading towards a further wave of industrial action in higher education, something that should have been entirely avoidable had USS and the regulator taken on board the recommendations of the Joint Expert Panel last September.
“The voice of the members of the scheme is being sidelined at every turn – this now including the suspension of one of only three member-nominated directors. There is a crisis developing at USS that needs urgent intervention,” he added.
*An earlier version of this article erroneously described Frank field's inquiry as concerning Professor Hutton's treatment by Universities UK. This has now been corrected.
