We are dismayed to see that the University and College Union has proposed a career revalued benefits scheme for pensions that, if accepted, would considerably worsen our terms and conditions of service without the endorsement of a democratically convened conference of the union (“UCU accepts end to final salary scheme but row over alternative rumbles on”, News, 13 November).
Among many things, it betrays UCU equality principles since it is women who have most to lose from the union’s accepting a move from a final salary to a career revalued benefits scheme, which doubly discriminates against them by institutionalising past discrimination into a package that adds insult to the injury suffered by women because of the rise in the state pension age.
We are further dismayed at the failure of our negotiators to respond to the threats of 100 per cent pay docking from the universities of York, Liverpool and Bradford for partial performance (and threats of partial pay docking at the University of Leeds and Queen Mary University of London) with escalating industrial action, according to policy passed at the UCU’s annual congress in May. We cannot allow these threats to go unanswered because they will undermine the marking boycott, which is a key industrial weapon for us.
Agreeing to a career revalued benefits pension scheme, coupled with the abandonment of one of our key industrial weapons, would amount to a betrayal by our negotiators of union members. The imposition on the union of such a profound change in policy is undemocratic because it damages pensions and weakens our union. Furthermore, any career revalued benefits scheme likely to be proposed will have serious implications for our members in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, who must be involved in the debate.
We ask all who agree with us to call for a special higher education sector conference on pensions (both the Universities Superannuation Scheme and the TPS) to reaffirm the congress’ decisions on our action.
We support the motion passed at the general meeting of the University of Leeds UCU, which affirmed the belief that negotiators around the USS must not waver from the key principles that pensions must be increased, not cut; that the current career revalued benefits scheme must be merged into a new final salary scheme in which contributions rise for the higher paid; and that the UCU’s higher education committee must follow up on the 78 per cent ballot mandate by calling escalating national strike action until threats of pay docking are withdrawn.
Malcolm Povey
Past president of Leeds UCU, former HEC member and former member of the UCU Superannuation Working Group and USS Joint Negotiating Committee
Andreas Bieler
University of Nottingham UCU and HEC
Lesley McGorrigan
University of Leeds UCU officer and HEC
Dennis Leech
University of Warwick
Craig Brandist
President, University of Sheffield UCU
Tom Hickey
University of Brighton UCU
Rory Fitzgerald
City University London UCU
Tony Brown
University College London UCU
Des Freedman
Secretary, Goldsmiths University of London UCU
Claudia Baldoli
Newcastle University UCU
David Walshaw
Newcastle University UCU
Bruce E. Baker
Newcastle University UCU
Ben Houston
Newcastle University UCU
Geoff Abbott
Newcastle University UCU
Nicola Clarke
Newcastle University UCU
Sara Maioli
Newcastle University UCU
Sarah Campbell
Newcastle University UCU
Felix Robin Schulz
Newcastle University UCU
Gail Edwards
Newcastle University UCU
Roddy Slorach
Equality and diversity representative, Imperial College London UCU
Marion Hersh
UCU Higher Education Committee, USS Superannuation Working Group and USS Joint Negotiating Committee
Les Levidow
The Open University UCU
Saira Weiner
UCU Higher Education Committee
Paul Blackledge
UCU Higher Education Committee, branch secretary, Leeds Beckett University
Richard Bradbury
UCU
Rick Saull
Queen Mary University of London UCU
James Eastwood
PhD candidate and graduate teaching assistant, department of politics and international studies
GTA representative, UCU Executive Committee, Soas, University of London
Alexis Wearmouth
Soas, University of London UCU Executive FTHP representative
Waseem Yaqoob
Junior research fellow in politics
Pembroke College, University of Cambridge UCU
Alex Callinicos
Professor of European studies
Department of European and international studies
King’s College London
Geoff Williams
University College London UCU Executive Committee (pc)
Peter D. Thomas
Brunel University London
Eleni Michalopoulou
University of Liverpool UCU
Owen Holland
University of Cambridge UCU
Mark Campbell
London Metropolitan University UCU (chair)
Arthur Kaletzky
University of Cambridge UCU
Gavin Reid
Honorary secretary, University of Leeds UCU
Amy Gilligan
Imperial College London UCU
Patricia McManus
Senior lecturer in media and cultural history, University of Brighton, chair of Moulsecoomb branch
UCU University of Brighton, NEC Rep South HE
Joel Dunn
King’s College London UCU committee secretary, London region UCU chair (HE)
Ian Grigg-Spall
UCU
Sai Englert
Soas, University of London UCU
John Yandell
Local UCU branch vice-president
Institute of Education, University of London
Lee Jones
Queen Mary University of London
Ioanna Ioannou
University College London UCU and Higher Education Committee
Sean Wallis
President and UCU National Executive Committee (ex-national pay negotiator)
Saladin Meckled-Garcia
University College London UCU vice-president
Martin Fry
Lecturer in medical electronics
Department of medical physics and biomedical engineering
University College London UCU Executive
Jo McNeill
President, University of Liverpool UCU, National Executive Committee
Mandy Brown
UCU National Executive Committee, secretary (FE) London region UCU, Lambeth College
Lesley Whitworth
SRF, Grand Parade UCU branch, University of Brighton
Lucy Robinson
University of Sussex
Ray Bush
Professor in African studies and development politics
School of Politics and International Studies
University of Leeds
Bob Brecher
University of Brighton
Nadia Edmond
Principal lecturer in education
University of Brighton UCU
Pura Ariza
Branch secretary, Manchester Metropolitan University, NW regional secretary
Mark O’Brien
Membership secretary, University of Liverpool UCU
Gale Dawson
University of Birmingham UCU branch committee
Mark Abel
Chair, University of Brighton UCU
Jenny Sutton
Branch chair, College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London
Adrian Budd
Secretary, London South Bank University UCU
Anne Alexander
University of Cambridge
Jon Berry
Professional doctorate in education (EdD) programme tutor
University of Hertfordshire
Jim Wolfreys
UCU committee president King’s College London
Rob Murthwaite
London Metropolitan University, UCU equalities officer, London region equalities officer
Owen Miller
Soas, University of London UCU
Abdul-Raouf Garoub
Soas, University of London UCU Executive Committee, language centre rep
Mike Humphrey
Senior developer, corporate systems (academic services), Soas, University of London
Subir Sinha
Development studies
Soas, University of London
Martin Moloney
Soas, University of London
Andrew Kennedy
Soas, University of London UCU Executive (pers cap)
Chris Gutkind
Soas, University of London UCU
Kristin Surak
Soas, University of London UCU
Johnny Darlington
Secretary, Soas, University of London UCU
Samer Bagaeen
School of Environment and Technology
University of Brighton
Sarah S Staniland
Senior lecturer of bionanoscience
Department of chemistry
University of Sheffield
Jörg Wiegratz
Lecturer in political economy of global development
School of Politics and International Studies
University of Leeds
Jane Hardy
University of Hertfordshire
Bahadur Najak
Durham University
Enze Han
Senior lecturer
Department of politics and international studies
Soas, University of London
Thomas Marois
Senior lecturer
Department of development studies
Soas, University of London
Carlo Morelli
University of Dundee
John Parrington
University of Oxford
Celia Hollingworth
University of Bristol UCU and Executive member
Steve Cannon
University of Sunderland UCU
James Cussens
Secretary, University of York UCU
Colin Hendrie
University of Leeds UCU committee
Phil Taylor
University of Strathclyde
Sian Moore
Professor of work and employment relations and co-director of Centre for Employment Studies Research at Bristol Business School
University of the West of England
The University of Sheffield has a problem with inequality. Undergraduate tuition fees have leapt threefold since 2012, with students graduating with an average debt of about £44,000. The vice-chancellor took home £370,000 last year, while the university benefits from the use of zero-hours and short-term contracts for many staff. In the middle, academics with open-ended contracts, of whom I am one, have suffered years of below-inflation pay rises.
This is the context for the UCU boycott on assessment, voted for by the largest turnout in the union’s history, in support of protecting pensions – another area in which unjustified cuts are planned. These proposals will cut pensions for staff and will also affect students, who will get less from demoralised lecturers.
Staff taking part in the action will have 25 per cent of their pay docked. I would like to request that the savings made from cutting my pay are redistributed to my students. The university should not profit from the action that staff are taking in the name of a fair reward for working at Sheffield, and students deserve some compensation.
Tom Stafford
Lecturer in psychology and cognitive science
University of Sheffield
I see that the Employers Pension Forum has finally responded to my queries about the life expectancies it gave in a Q&A attempting to explain the reasons for proposed changes to the USS (“Pensions puzzle”, Letters, 16 October).
The EPF claim – that it intended “simply to describe general improvements in longevity in the UK, however due to a drafting error the Q&A read as if it was describing improvements in life expectancy specifically for USS members” – is false. No group in the UK had life expectancies at 65 as low as eight years in 1974, and even by 2062, projected life expectancies at 65 do not reach 30 years.
I cannot trust any statement by the EPF, and would advise everyone to check them.
The most recent actuarial report from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (Continuous Mortality Investigation, working paper 63) states that “cohort life expectancies have…decreased”.
Jane Hutton
Department of statistics
University of Warwick
