The branch held a General Meeting to update members on progress in the Transformational Change Programme, as well as concerning developments over the closure of courses announced immediately after the Christmas and New Year break, despite assurances from management made just prior to the break.
You can view presentation slides here.
Members were updated on the outcome of the recent national ballot. Whilst there was a strong vote for industrial action, the mandatory participation threshold wasn’t reached. The vote therefore will not lead to industrial action. UCU now intend to consult on next steps.
The Actinng Vice President also apprised members of the current status of TCP and the plans to launch online learning with an external provider.
Members also passed a motion authorising the payment of £500 into the University of Sheffield Hardship Fund in solidarity.
Slides from the meeting can be viewed here.
HQ have recently fielded a number of queries from branch oficials asking for help in answering member queries about their USS pension in relation to job threats and the risk of redundancy at their institution.
The pension officer has circulated the following Q&A’s commonly asked about in this regard; they are published here for your information and guidance.
Can I access my USS pension if made redundant?
Normal USS rules for accessing your pension apply whether you resign, accept voluntary redundancy or are made compulsory redundant. You must be over age 55 (increasing to 57 in 2028) to access your pension and if you are under normal pension age – 60 for pre-2011 service, 60 or 63.5 for service between 2011 and 2020, 65 from 2020 to 2022 and 66 from 2022- early retirement factors will apply where your pension is reduced for claiming it early.
Exception – If a member has a Protected Pension Age (PPA) they may be eligible to access their pension from age 50.
Protected Pension Age Criteria for eligibility
If you are aged 50 or more, with five years’ service, are made redundant and you have been paying into USS continuously since 5 April 2006, you will be entitled to access your pension from age 50. Source – https://www.uss.co.uk/financial-advisers
Can I get redundancy and ill-health retirement?
In order to get ill-health retirement as an active member, you must be under normal pension age (66), be paying into USS for at least two years and suffer from a long-term illness in the view of your employer and USS. You will not be considered for ill-health retirement if you have left your job for any reason other than your illness. Redundancy is not normally considered as a reason for leaving other than your illness.
Active & Proportionate Indexation
Under Rule 10 of the USS Scheme Rules, your pension is increased each year by inflation under what we know as the Soft Cap. When you retire on a date other than 31 March, USS must apply a scheme rule to calculate your pension entitlement. This date can have a negative or positive impact on your pension.
Essentially, if you are made redundant on 30 March 2026 or before, USS will apply an inflation rate of 1.7% (CPI value at Sept. 2024) to your pension entitlement up to the date of leaving. If you are made redundant on 31 March 2026 or after, USS will apply an inflation rate of 3.8% (CPI value at Sept. 2025) to your pension entitlement.
Is it better to leave at the start or end of the month?
Members can get a small benefit if they leave early in a month rather than at the end. If a redundancy date is in the first part of the month, their pension indexation prior to leaving will be estimated as if they left at the end of that month. So a member leaving on 31 March 2026 will have pension indexation up to date of leaving calculated until 31 March 2026 while a member leaving on 01 April will have pension calculated until 30 April 2026.
Pre-2011 Service and 60th Birthday
There is a group of members known as ‘exempt members’ who retain age 63 ½ (or earlier Contracted Pension Age) in respect of service from 1 April 1995 onwards. Exempt members are final salary members who were members on 30 September 2011 and aged 55 or over at 1 October 2011, and were exempt from the changes to Normal Pension Age – to broadly align with state pension age from 01 October 2011.
Basically, if you are an exempt member, have this pre-2011 service and access your pension before age 60, early retirement factors apply. These reductions are significant and can reduce your pre-2011 service by up to 18%.
For further advice
You can read more on UCU website by following this link, or alternatively email any questions you have to pensions@ucu.org.uk.
China intimidated UK university to ditch human rights research
UCU said it was incredibly worrying that Sheffield Hallam appeared to have attempted to silence its own professor, reported BBC News 24.
The union commented after documents seen by the BBC showed China waged a campaign of harassment and intimidation directed at the university to get it to shut down sensitive research into alleged human rights abuses.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady told BBC News: “It is incredibly worrying that Sheffield Hallam appears to have attempted to silence its own professor on behalf of a foreign government. Given the censorship Hallam has seemingly engaged in, it now needs to set out how it will ensure its academics will be supported to research freely and protected from overreach by foreign powers.”
Modern languages, music and nursing among course cuts at Nottingham
All modern language and music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham, reported BBC News.
UCU Nottingham vice president Andreas Bieler told the outlet and The Times that the union ” will contest the closures of these programmes” through industrial action.
He added “If you suspend undergraduate programmes, then redundancies are on the cards very clearly. Our university prides itself as a global institution, but by cutting all modern language programmes it’s turning into the University of Little England.”
Staff are on strike next week.
Dundee University staff to strike for five days over job cuts
Staff at Dundee University will strike for five days next week over the institution’s plan to cut jobs, reported BBC News.
UCU Dundee branch co-president Melissa D’Ascenzio told the outlet: “News that further job cuts are coming is just another shocking revelation in a year when staff have been told one thing only to be then told something different over the number of jobs to be cut and the need for compulsory redundancies.”
Jo Grady told The Standard: It’s galling that, once again, staff hear about more job cuts in the Parliament and in the media.”
Lancaster University staff work to rule over job cuts
Lancaster University staff will begin action short of a strike on Monday over plans to axe one in four staff.
Jo Grady told The Lancashire Telegraph and Lancaster Guardian: “Staff are working to rule in a battle to protect Lancaster University from the devastating cuts management is attempting to inflict. It is completely unacceptable to embark upon such a destructive programme of cuts, all while directing money to vanity projects abroad. Management must now open the books, tell us how many millions it has earmarked for a new campus halfway around the world, and work with us to protect jobs and student provision here in Lancaster.”
Northumbria to freeze pay if staff refuse TPS-USS pension switch
Northumbria University is threatening to move existing academic employees from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme to the Universities Superannuation Scheme in an attempt to save up to £11 million annually. Any staff member refusing to move schemes will have their pay frozen.
UCU regional support official Jon Bryan told Times Higher: “Our position is clear, members’ pensions are deferred and hard-earned pay, and an integral part of members’ terms and conditions. UCU will not allow management to impose changes that will rip staff off, either by reducing pensions or by reducing pay. Any changes must be negotiated and agreed with us. Our members will be meeting as a matter of urgency to discuss next steps.”
At a well attended meeting, members were apprised of developments in respect of the Transformational Change Programme.
The slides of the meeting can be viewed here.
The branch have particular concerns over the potential impact of the Technicians review. Whilst UCU is not directly represented in the group, it is recognised that there may be fall out that affects UCU members working in labs and workshops as levels of support will be impacted.
Members were encouraged to attend the open launch meeting for technicians immediately after the EGM to show support and perhaps challenge aspects of the review from an academic perspective.
The next major phases will be Estates and IT Services, the latter where UCU is well represented. Current expectation is that those phases will start early 2026.
Motion
The UCU Bradford LA calls upon management to:
The motion was passed overwhelmingly.
With the ‘We ARE the University’ national ballot underway, all members are urged to make their voice heard by participating; not to do so damages your union both at national and local level.
UCU urges you to vote YES as it fights on your behalf not just on pay, but also a range of national agreements that are now under threat and could have a direct and detrimental impact on your terms and conditions of employment.
UCU also calls upon the employer to reach a national agreement to avoid redundancies, course closures, and cuts to academic disciplines.
Whatever your views, you owe it to yourself and your colleagues to participate in the ballot to ensure that it is valid, whatever the outcome.
At a well attended EGM members were brought further up to date with movement in respect of Transformational Change Programme.
You can see the slide presentation via this link.
Motion 1 called for a pause in the development of a partnership arrangement for the delivery of on-line learning programmes, arguing that there is potential to save jobs by building capacity within the institution and using existing expertise.
The motion was passed with no objections.
In addition, committee member Colins Imoh was nominated by show of hands as branch delegate at the upcoming Black Members Standing Committee meeting.
Labour announces new international student levy at conference
BBC Westminster Hour opened its coverage of Labour Conference on Sunday evening by interviewing UCU general secretary Jo Grady. Jo said people are calling on Starmer to step down because he hasn’t done enough to help working-class communities.
On Monday, Jo spent the hour with Iain Dale on LBC Cross Question reacting to the Education Secretary’s speech and going toe-to-toe with minister Jacqui Smith. Jo told LBC “The funding system is completely unfit for purpose.”
In response to Bridget Phillipson’s speech, Jo told The Guardian and The Times “Treating international students as cash cows to fund maintenance grants amounts to robbing Peter to pay Paul. Instead of attacking foreign students, the Labour government should be fixing our colleges and universities through huge public investment.”
On Tuesday, Jo reacted to Keir Starmer’s keynote address with Sophy Ridge on Sky News. She told Ridge “50% of FE lecturers leave within three years. In HE, thousands of redundancies are looming. If Labour are serious, we need commitments: close the pay gap, stop the cuts, and invest in education. Otherwise, today’s speech is hollow.”
UCU to ballot 10,000 college staff for strikes at 68 colleges in England
Around 10,000 staff at colleges in England will be balloted for strike action, reported The Independent.
Jo Grady told the outlet, MSN, Yahoo and The Evening Standard “It is unacceptable that following years of pay degradation, college staff are expected to stomach further real-terms pay cuts, while at the same time dealing with ever-higher workloads. The Prime Minister said this week that Labour wants to put further education on an equal footing with higher education, but this will be impossible unless the Government tackles the issues causing half of college teachers to leave the sector within three years.”
Third of women report facing sexual harassment at university
One in three female students say they have endured sexual harassment during their time at university or college, with most of it taking place around campus, according to data published by England’s higher education regulator.
Jo Grady told The Guardian “These shocking figures expose just how widespread sexual harassment and assault are in our universities, with one in four students reporting harassment and one in seven experiencing assault. No one should have to fear abuse, yet institutions are still failing to protect them. It is a national scandal, and vice-chancellors cannot keep turning a blind eye. This demands urgent, sector-wide reform and accountability. Students and staff deserve safe campuses, not excuses.”
New analysis shows Scottish universities facing funding crisis
The horrendous financial position of Scotland’s universities and colleges has been laid bare in incredibly stark new analysis from Scotland’s funding authority, reported The Scotsman.
UCU Scotland official Mary Senior told the paper “The Scottish Government needs to do something significant in the Scottish budget this year…It is clear the marketised approach, which has to rely on commercial income and international tuition fees to prop up is just not working.”
Mary also sounded the alarm on BBC Radio Scotland, telling the station “University staff are living this crisis day to day. It’s unsustainable. We need more public funding, not hidden redundancies and derisory pay awards.”
Teesside told to rethink plans to cut research-focused roles
Teesside University has been warned that it risks losing “years of experience” if it follows through with plans to cut senior academic roles. A planned restructure at the university will see it remove 39 principal lecturer posts across four different schools, reported Times Higher.
Jo Grady told the outlet “Teesside University must urgently rethink these plans and work with us to find an alternative to job losses. Management needs to allow time for genuine negotiations or risk serious disruption on campus at a crucial time of year.”
A university spokesperson said that its review of principal lecturer roles has been “carefully developed to align with the university’s strategy and objectives and to provide leadership roles in the most appropriate areas.”
Leicester staff & students ‘fight for future of university’ amid threat to degrees
Striking staff at the University of Leicester say they are not just fighting for their jobs but for the very future of the institution as entire degrees face the axe, reported The Leicester Mercury.
UCU member James Pickering told the paper he and his colleagues are “upset” and “disappointed” by the threat to their area. He added: “It just feels to me like they’re sort of forgetting what the university is. I’m meant to be giving three lectures today, right? They’re not happening.
The branch wishes to thank all the members that made time to attend the EGM.
After a good comradely and constructive discussion the decision was made to accept the heads of terms and stand down the scheduled eight days of action (Wednesday 24th to Friday 3rd October).
This does NOT mean that the branch will not re-schedule action if it believes that the employer is not following the heads of terms or members are threatened with compulsory redundancies in Phase Three.
These heads of terms go a very significant way to reaching the branches aim of no compulsory redundancies.
But as a branch we still have much work to do both in protecting our members who are/will be at risk, and also about challenging the employer on both the direction of its strategy and its behaviour.
The branch also passed a motion expressing support and a donation of £500 for the University of Leicester UCU branch in their dispute.
You can view EGM slides here.
Members can be assured that local negotiators have been working to the very last minute to try and achieve an acceptable deal.
Very late on Friday 19th Sept a meeting was held with management and we can confirm that following the conclusion of those latest talks your negotiators believe that enough progress has been made to allow postponement of strike action scheduled for Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd September.
This delay has been agreed to allow time for a further meeting with members of the executive board on Monday 22nd to agree the terms of a ‘principles of agreement’. If successful, this agreement will be presented to members at an Extraordinary General Meeting on Tuesday 23rd in the afternoon (time TBC) for their consideration/approval.
Please note that until the branch has approved the principles strike action remains ON for the remaining eight days.
We are sorry if this causes any inconvenience but we hope that members will appreciate the hard work and commitment to negotiations that hopefully means that we are close to us reaching a possible deal