USS strikes

Union congress calls for resignation of USS chief executive and criticises Cambridge college’s decision to withdraw from scheme

College cites ‘remote but existential risk to the college from continued participation’ in fund

UK pension fund rocked by regulator’s concerns, whistleblower’s claims and potential departure of Cambridge college

Office of the Independent Adjudicator says some English and Welsh providers did not do enough for students when lecturers walked out over pensions

General secretary hopefuls want further concessions from pension scheme

Proposals reduce anticipated future contributions, but fall short of union members’ ‘no detriment’ demand

Higher Education Policy Institute director Nick Hillman assesses the history of UK academia’s main pension scheme to ask whether it needs fundamental reform

Pension scheme will re-run its valuation and consult universities on proposals to save defined benefits, although April’s cost increases will go ahead

Pensions dispute moves closer to resolution after vice-chancellors support proposals to increase employer contributions to Universities Superannuation Scheme

Increase in contributions to Teachers’ Pension Scheme will cost post-92 universities about £140 million annually, Ucea says

No-confidence motion that triggered walkouts at the University and College Union’s June congress is shelved at recall event

Higher education pension scheme hits back over allegations that it has made a ‘large and demonstrable mistake’ in assessment of its long-term health

From the largest strike in the history of UK higher education, to the US ‘academic precariat’ looking to unionise to improve their conditions, Jack Grove assesses the changing influence of workers’ organisations

Additional contribution from staff combined with 2 per cent extra from employers would be enough to keep current USS pension scheme, say experts

The former Bank of England governor’s broadside against academic pension cuts relied on ‘reckless’ and ‘absurd’ assumptions, say John Ralfe and Bernard Casey

UK academics prize the USS pension. Sacrificing a scheme ‘in rude health’ on the basis of overcautious calculations would cause more disaffection

Universities Superannuation Scheme is in ‘rude health’, says Mervyn King

Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King and economist John Kay address the USS’ so-called funding crisis and propose a fairer approach to sharing risk between employers, employees and generations

University and staff payments set to increase even though Joint Expert Panel is yet to report

Home secretary offers clarity in wake of UK university pensions walkout

Law firm claims that universities could be forced to pay out up to £20 million

How strong a voice should academics and students have in university governance? Tom Cutterham contrasts autocratic and democratic patterns in UK and European institutions

Staff refuse to allow delegates to consider motion calling for general secretary’s resignation

University and College Union general secretary Sally Hunt faces demands to stand down over her handling of the pensions strike

The autonomy, professional discretion and judgement once central to academic life is now looked on with deep scepticism by university managers, argues Peter Fleming

Law firm says legal claim can now progress after 1,000 people joined class action

Analysts are optimistic that the expert panel convened to reassess the USS deficit could deliver significant change, although others are less convinced

Branches call for return to collegiality from senior management to avoid repeat of industrial action

UCU members accept deal with vice-chancellors by two-to-one margin

While their credentials are not in dispute, institutions could have their teaching and research undermined by a crisis in morale

The protests against pensions reforms reflect not just self-interest but also anger about working conditions and a sense that universities are losing their way. Jack Grove explores how proposed changes to the USS strained and broke bonds of trust

Growing discontent among University and College Union members about leaders’ handling of negotiations

Universities should emulate the private sector in a positive way by eliminating costly duplication, says a worker in professional services

Converting the USS into a defined contributions scheme could give younger academics a bigger pension pot, argues David Voas 

Several University and College Union branches urge rejection of offer to set up expert panel

Four experts discuss the estimated shortfall that led to strike action at UK universities

Academics see the OfS, like the changes in USS pensions, as another attack on them and the cherished compensations of their profession

Union serves notice of strike action at 13 universities to begin on 16 April

Qualified actuary and academic Nick Foster says the case for university pension reform cannot be ignored despite a brilliant anti-cuts PR campaign

Institutions are removing content that has not been covered because of missed classes but are adamant that standards will not be lowered

This strike’s momentum is unprecedented because the proposed pension cuts are a symbol of the UK’s flawed higher education system, says George Letsas

Revised deal would set up expert panel to advise on ‘future joint approach’, and aim to protect defined benefits

More than 600 academics record resignation in online document

Casualisation and treating academics like feckless children who can’t be trusted have also taken their toll, says Sarah Colvin

Industrial action at UK universities a ‘seminal moment’, say academics

Protests by West Ham fans have striking similarities with the unrest sparked among academics by proposed pension cuts, says Richard Watermeyer

Bill Galvin, chief executive of the Universities Superannuation Scheme, tackles some of the ‘misunderstandings’ about the fund’s approach to its valuation

Universities UK to appoint panel to explore methodology and assumptions behind pension scheme’s £6.1 billion deficit

The Pensions Regulator, not universities, is the driving force behind proposed cuts due to its nonsensical approach to discount rates, argue David Bailey and John Clancy

The reawakening of political activism within academia sparked by the pensions strike will reinvigorate scholarship, says Jana Bacevic

Academic sleuths have used investigative skills and Twitter to tell the real story behind proposed pension cuts, says Sherrill Stroschein

Pension cuts have been presented as a matter-of-fact and inevitable response to an enormous deficit, but this position has started to unravel, says Jan Machielsen

Uncertainty over the future of 18 per cent contributions is hampering negotiations, argue Jon Forster, Graham Niblo and James Vickers

The university strikes are a militant campaign that attacks the very heart of learning as the union propaganda makes clear, says John Marenbon

Don’t blame university support staff for not joining the strike over pensions – it is because too often they are left out of the conversation, says Fiona Whelan

Pensions industry must use academia’s knowledge to create more imaginative solutions to global pensions crisis, argues Lionel Martellini

Warwick's vice-chancellor Stuart Croft explains how radical government action might help to avert the pensions strike affecting half of all UK universities

Academics do not want to damage students' education but strike action is the only option left to protect pensions, says Sam Marsh

Threats to dock pay from university staff working only their hours during the USS pensions dispute ignore academics’ unpaid hours, says Will Pooley

Pensions expert criticises Universities UK’s ‘outdated’ proposal to end defined benefit scheme for almost 200,000 staff