Email to staff and PGRs 20 February 2023

Industrial action update

Dear colleagues and postgraduate researchers,

An update following University and College Union (UCU)’s announcement that the planned industrial action will be ‘paused’ until 2 March to enable further talks to take place.

This follows good progress in national negotiations on both pay and pensions.

• USS pensions: In a joint statement on Friday, Universities UK and UCU said negotiations have been constructive and that the USS pensions valuation scheduled for March 2023 is likely to reveal a high probability of being able to improve benefits and reduce contributions. There is also a commitment to continue working together in partnership on USS governance reform and low-cost options for lower-paid staff.
• Pay and working conditions: Last week, there were fruitful discussions between the various Higher Education sector unions and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), the employers’ negotiating body on pay. These were facilitated by ACAS, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, and have enabled further discussion on UCEA’s 2023-24 pay offer of between 5 and 8 per cent, along with agreement for the ACAS talks to move onto discussions on contract types, workload and pay gaps.

While suspending industrial action until 2 March, UCU has stated that the strikes scheduled for later in March could still go ahead, and we still anticipate a re-ballot from UCU to secure an extension of its mandate for future action. 

Longer-term drivers

As these positive talks continue, we very much welcome the news of this paused action, and hope that we can move to a comprehensive agreement that will resolve these long-lasting disputes. As ever, I will keep you updated with the major developments.

My view of this opportunity to find agreement is straightforward. We have to take it - but we also need to build on it. 

The common ground, that we now have the opportunity to forge, creates a platform on which to tackle the longer-term drivers and underlying causes of these disputes. This includes the broken system for funding home undergraduate study, which limits the sector’s ability to afford better pay rises, and the over-cautious approach of the Pensions Regulator, which has made agreement on USS so difficult for over a decade.

All parties need to grasp this opportunity, and pave the way for a more stable sector that can recognise and reward the work and talents of its staff on a stronger, more sustainable basis. We will not be convincing in making our case on reform of the system for funding undergraduate study and better pensions regulation for the sector if we remain in a repeated cycle of industrial conflict.

Best wishes,

Charlie