The Friday email: 12 April 2024

Tell your MP: support the funding of Teachers' Pensions Scheme rises

Employer contributions to the Teachers' Pensions Scheme (TPS) are due to rise but despite covering this cost for schools and colleges, the Department for Education is not covering the cost for universities. This will increase the financial pressure on higher education institutions specifically Post-92 universities.

We are encouraging our members in England and Wales to ask their MP to sign a parliamentary motion calling on the government to intervene and cover the cost. You can use UCU's tool to contact your MP here.

USS: benefits restored in full on 1 April 2024

On 1 April 2024 members of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) had their benefits restored in full. The restoration has come two years after employers forced through cuts to USS that meant guaranteed benefits were slashed by on average 35%.

The restoration means that, as of 1 April 2024:

• the USS accrual rate jumps from 1/85 back to 1/75 
• the USS defined benefit threshold increases from £41k back to over £70k
• the hard inflation cap of 2.5% has been removed.

An additional one-off pension payment of around £900m has also been made to help make good the money that USS members have lost since April 2022. In January 2024, USS employee contribution rates also fell from 9.8% to 6.1%. That alongside the increase in benefits means a typical USS member will be around £150k-£200k better off.

England FE pay claim 2024/25

The joint further education (FE) trade unions in England (GMB, NEU, UCU, Unison and Unite) have submitted our pay claim 2024/25 to the Association of Colleges (AoC) in advance of this year's pay negotiations, which start in May.

You can click here to read the full claim for 2024/25. The claim is seeking a pay offer to address the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the fall in the value of pay by around 40% since 2010. It seeks to address increasing levels of workload. And we are seeking a new national agreement in FE with binding outcomes that all employers implement so that no member is left behind.

A special further education sector conference (FESC) will be held (online) on Saturday 13 April 2024 to debate the further education committee's strategy and decide next steps. You can find here some FAQs that have been developed from the questions asked by branch reps at the recent FE branch briefings on 29 February and 5 March 2024.

Northern Ireland FE pay update

UCU members at all six of Northern Ireland's further education colleges are currently being consulted on a revised pay offer from the Minister for the Economy. The offer proposes a starting salary of £30k, a 8.4% increase plus £1k on all salary points, a commitment to move towards pay parity with schoolteachers and a review of workload. UCU is recommending acceptance of the offer. The electronic ballot will close at noon on Tuesday 16 April 2024. 

UK HE pay and working conditions negotiations

Please click here to read the latest update on the ongoing higher education pay and working conditions negotiations between the joint unions (UCU, Unison, Unite, GMB and EIS) and Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). 

Specifically, the elected negotiators have been working on revising terms of reference to form working groups on the pay-related elements of our 'Four Fights' claim: workload, casualisation, pay spine reform, and equality pay gaps, which have now been agreed by the joint unions and submitted to UCEA.

The negotiators have also been working with the joint unions on the 2024/25 pay claim. The claim has been submitted to UCEA; you can see the heads of claim here.

Higher education: defend jobs and education

Please support the following university branches where UCU members are defending jobs and education:

• Goldsmiths, University of London: Goldsmiths UCU members have overwhelmingly voted to take industrial action in a fight to stop the sacking of more than one in six academic staff (over 130 jobs) at the institution. Over 87% of UCU members who voted said yes to strike action in a ballot with a turnout of 69%. A marking boycott will begin on Friday 19 April
• University of Kent: Kent UCU members have backed strike action in defence of jobs: 58 staff are at risk of redundancy as part of a programme that would see courses closes across the institution. An overwhelming 85% of UCU members who voted said 'Yes' to strike action in a ballot with a turnout of 57%. The result comes as the person in charge of the cuts, vice-chancellor Karen Cox, announces she will step down in May, before they are even implemented
• Northumbria University: Northumbria UCU members have faced down university management's plans to force through compulsory redundancies for academic staff. In an announcement to staff on 28 March, which comes after UCU began balloting for strike action, Northumbria's vice-chancellor said the university would 'formally rule out the possibility of compulsory redundancies' for academic staff  
• University of Portsmouth: Portsmouth UCU members are being consulted over industrial action as 398 academic staff are to be put at risk of redundancy, part of University of Portsmouth's 'academic reset' programme that management says is necessary due to recruitment challenges and increased costs. But far from being in financial trouble, University of Portsmouth has almost £329m in the bank and is planning to spend £250m on buildings 
• Sheffield Hallam University: a strike ballot will open on Monday 15 April. The university has said 225 academic jobs will be axed, with up to 80 staff facing compulsory redundancy. Around 140 experienced academics have already left following the opening of a voluntary severance scheme in December 2023 and the university is now ploughing ahead with further compulsory job losses
• University of Winchester: Winchester has recently announced large scale redundancies due to, it claims, a £6m structural deficit. Winchester UCU has declared a trade dispute with the university and will be consulting with members over plans for collective action.

Current industrial disputes and wins

UCU is determined to resist the waves of job cuts and attacks on working conditions taking place in post-16 education throughout the UK. You can click here for a list of current industrial disputes and find out how you can extend your solidarity, and you can click here for a list of wins that UCU members have achieved over the last two years. Both lists are updated continually so please check back regularly.

UCU videos on prison education and adult and community education

UCU has released a new series of short videos in which members share their stories. Please watch and forward to your colleagues:

• Pauline Rafferty on her work and the prison education sector
• David Filer from Adult and Community Education Service Coventry
• Nick Gilbert from Morley College on his experiences in ACE.

Changes to immigration requirements

From April 2024, a number of changes to immigration requirements will come into force. These include changes to earnings thresholds for those applying for new skilled worker and family visas, as well as updates to SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) codes and rules on supplemental work.

UCU's immigration lawyers, Bindmans, have prepared a summary of these changes for members which can be found here. You can find more information about resources and support for migrant members--and the latest news about the activity of the UCU migrant members' standing committee (MMSC)--on our website here.

Equality research conference, 17 May

UCU's equality research conference 2024 is a one-day hybrid event for academics and activists conducting research in equality. The conference will explore how people across (and within) equality groups have experienced or are experiencing actions and discourse around discrimination and equality. The conference is free of charge and open to members and non-members.

It will take place on Friday 17 May (10:30-16:30) at the University of Manchester and online. Click here to register; registration deadline is Monday 29 April.

UCU continuing professional development workshops

Join us this month for the following 90-minute online interactive workshops that are free and open to all UCU members:

• Embedding climate education in the curriculum: Wednesday 17 April, 16:30-18:00
• Democratising education--UCU Green New Deal: Thursday 25 April, 16:30-18:00
• Menopause is a workplace issue: Tuesday 30 April, 14:00-15:30

Please look out for our Monday CPD email with details of all the online workshops running this term.

Ceasefire NOW!

UCU joins with many others in Palestine, the UK, and beyond to reiterate the demands for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, and the lifting of the siege of Gaza. We have a webpage that collates in one place all of our information, resources and events for UCU members and branches.

Stop the attacks on academics: Donelan must go

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan MP recently attacked academics on social media and, having lost the confidence of those working in higher education, must now resign. Sign the petition and call on her to formally apologise and resign her position.

The trade union case for proportional representation

Sign up for the free live webinar with Professor Rob Ford (University of Manchester) on Tuesday 16 April, 18:00-19:00.

Electoral reform will be a key issue at the general election. History shows that even when the Labour Party wins an overall majority, any improvements in trade union rights are quickly reversed by subsequent Tory governments. Hear why trade unions and campaign groups like Politics for the Many believe proportional representation is the best way of ensuring trade unions and working people hold onto their rights.

UCU rep wins Northern TUC rep award

Jamie Callahan, membership secretary at Durham University UCU, won the Northern Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Terry Rodgers workplace rep award at last month's NTUC annual conference. Jamie has been highly successful in building recruitment in the Business School, and raised participation in industrial action ballots dramatically. She has also been a stalwart on picket lines and brings energy and commitment to conversations with staff and students. Jamie is a testament to the strength and organising approach--congratulations to Jamie and all at Durham University UCU branch.

Organising for Power's core fundamentals

Organising For Power's core fundamentals is a skills-based training course open to organisers worldwide from 17:00 to 19:30 each Tuesday from 7 May to 11 June 2024. The course covers: workplace leader identification; semantics; structured organising conversations; charting; and structure tests. Hear from lead trainer Jane McAlevey about why you should sign up.

Participating UCU members will be placed into groups and meet up weekly to work through the course. Please click here to register; the registration deadline is Friday 26 April at 14:00.

Jim Thakoordin (1943-2024)

It is with deep sadness that we recently learned our member and past vice chair of the Black members' standing committee (BMSC), Jim Thakoordin, has passed away. Awarded the TUC silver badge of services to trade unions, Jim's work will live on.