Universities face 'sustained disruption' as bullying employers railroad pension changes through
11 May 2011
UCU today warned that universities could face a major programme of sustained industrial action. An increasingly bitter row over the future of staff pensions looks set to escalate after detrimental changes were railroaded through by the employers at a meeting yesterday.
The row centres on changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) which would leave staff thousands of pounds worse off a year as well as create a two-tier scheme.
Last month, USS threatened to take High Court action against the union's five pension negotiators, and to make them individually liable for any costs, after they refused to attend a board meeting where they feared detrimental changes proposed by the employers would be rubber-stamped.
Despite protests from across the academic world, the employers, including those who sit on the USS Board remained silent on the attempts 'to bully' the union's negotiators.
In an effort to break the deadlock, UCU sent fresh proposals to the employers on 14 April and offered to meet under the auspices of the conciliation service, ACAS. That offer was rejected and the union's negotiators yesterday attended a USS joint committee meeting where, as they correctly predicted, the changes were pushed through.
The union said it was frustrated that university employers had consistently refused to negotiate and used 'every underhand trick in the book' to bully the union's negotiators and force through their changes. The employers made it clear yesterday they were not prepared to set aside a single penny of the millions of pounds they will save in order to safeguard benefits.
In a letter to members last week, UCU general secretary Sally Hunt warned that if the employers pushed ahead with the meeting to force the changes through then the union will be left with little option but to re-ballot its members in the USS scheme.
The union's USS negotiators have recommended a fresh ballot of USS members for a major programme of sustained disruption, which would include external examiner duties and the admissions process.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'I have tried and tried again to persuade the employers to negotiate and resolve this increasingly bitter dispute sensibly. They simply refuse to share even one penny of their massive savings with staff and the proposals have been forced through as a result of ordinary union members being threatened with legal action. That, in my judgement, is disgraceful.'
Last month, USS threatened to take High Court action against the union's five pension negotiators, and to make them individually liable for any costs, after they refused to attend a board meeting where they feared detrimental changes proposed by the employers would be rubber-stamped.
Despite protests from across the academic world, the employers, including those who sit on the USS Board remained silent on the attempts 'to bully' the union's negotiators.
In an effort to break the deadlock, UCU sent fresh proposals to the employers on 14 April and offered to meet under the auspices of the conciliation service, ACAS. That offer was rejected and the union's negotiators yesterday attended a USS joint committee meeting where, as they correctly predicted, the changes were pushed through.
The union said it was frustrated that university employers had consistently refused to negotiate and used 'every underhand trick in the book' to bully the union's negotiators and force through their changes. The employers made it clear yesterday they were not prepared to set aside a single penny of the millions of pounds they will save in order to safeguard benefits.
In a letter to members last week, UCU general secretary Sally Hunt warned that if the employers pushed ahead with the meeting to force the changes through then the union will be left with little option but to re-ballot its members in the USS scheme.
The union's USS negotiators have recommended a fresh ballot of USS members for a major programme of sustained disruption, which would include external examiner duties and the admissions process.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'I have tried and tried again to persuade the employers to negotiate and resolve this increasingly bitter dispute sensibly. They simply refuse to share even one penny of their massive savings with staff and the proposals have been forced through as a result of ordinary union members being threatened with legal action. That, in my judgement, is disgraceful.'
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