Lecturers stage 24-hour strike in dispute over pension rights

THOUSANDS of staff at universities and colleges across the country have staged the first national strike in five years in a bitter row over pensions.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) took part in the 24-hour industrial action at 47 sites yesterday, including campuses in Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York.

Cambridge, Oxford, Birmingham, Liverpool, Goldsmiths, Royal Holloway and Imperial College in London, as well as the Open University and the Royal College of Art were also involved in the dispute.

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The union is campaigning against moves to raise the retirement age for academics, increase contributions and end a final salary pension scheme.

The changes are set to be made to the university superannuation scheme (USS) pension fund which applies to academic staff at pre-1992 universities.

The fund is managed by the Employers’ Pensions Forum on behalf of the universities. UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: “University staff really value their pension rights and have made it clear from the start of this dispute that if the employers were not prepared to negotiate then we would be left with little option but to take strike action.

“Strike action is always a last resort and we have always wanted to meet the employers to avoid widespread disruption. However, both sides had to be prepared to go that extra mile and the employers clearly weren’t.

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“I share the frustration that students must be feeling at the employers’ intransigence.”

University employers said there had been three years of negotiations with the UCU to address financial pressures on the pension scheme created by the improved life-expectancy of retired members and other factors.

The Employers’ Pensions Forum chairman, Prof Brian Cantor, who is also vice chancellor at York University, warned that without these changes the USS fund would be facing a shortfall which would need to met by universities.

“An enormous amount of work has gone into the development of this package of reforms with representatives from EPF, UCU and the USS Trustee Board playing pivotal roles in finalising moderate changes of benefit to all,” he said. “These changes were approved by the Joint National Committee (JNC) in July 2010, and then by the USS Trustee Board, both of which involved full UCU representation.

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“Since then UCU has repeatedly failed to engage in the established process for agreeing scheme changes.

“The union is ignoring the past three years of negotiations and seeking to overturn the decisions of the USS Trustee Board, the JNC and the Independent Chair by not exercising its shared stewardship.

“University employers call on the UCU to respect the process of the USS and represent the active members of the USS in the proper place, by discharging its duty of governance around the table of the JNC.

“The strike action is damaging to students and the sector as a whole. It is not the answer. Unless these changes are approved, any future funding shortfalls for the scheme must be met by employers.

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“A two per cent contribution rise from October 2009 is already costing employers an £110m per annum – money that is now not available to provide better services for students.”

Strikes took place at pre-1992 universities in England yesterday following similar actions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the past five days.

A second day of action is planned for tomorrow by the UCU if the dispute is not resolved today.

Yesterday’s strike action affected the five pre-1992 universities in the region: Bradford, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield and York.

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Leeds UCU branch spokesman Dr Mark Taylor-Batty said: “Cuts to pensions will make it harder to recruit the first class staff that Leeds University students are entitled to and for which they will soon be paying a very high premium.

“Pensions are deferred pay and the cuts will impact hardest on new entrants to the profession, precisely those we would want to encourage to make a career in higher education.

“For a new entrant aged 30 who continued to work until 65, the employers’ proposals mean a loss of £369,000 over the course of retirement.”

A Leeds University spokesman said: “We are extremely disappointed that the UCU has decided to take industrial action, in particular because of the effect on students’ education, and we will do all we can to minimise the impact on students.

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“Pay and pensions are national issues affecting millions of employees across the public and private sectors.

“The pension reforms are required to protect the scheme for future generations, but it remains one of the most generous in the country, with all our existing staff keeping their final salary pensions.”