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University of Essex staff present £10 million bill for pension losses to vice-chancellor

30 September 2011

UCU members at the University of Essex will today present vice-chancellor Colin Riordan and director of finance Andrew Connolly with a mock invoice for £10m to represent their lost pensions. The presentation will follow a 'funeral' marking the death of the final-salary element of the USS pension scheme.

The protest is part of an increasingly bitter row over changes to staff pensions by the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). After staging the 'funeral' at 12 noon on the Colchester campus, Essex UCU members will deliver the mock invoice for £10 million lost pensions under the USS scheme vice-chancellor Colin Riordan and director of finance Andrew Connolly. The union said today's protest was the first step in a sustained campaign against the imposed changes to the scheme.
 
The changes, which apply to hundreds of staff at the University of Essex as well as thousands at other universities across the UK, were forced through by employers this summer despite vehement protests from scheme members, allied with other unions representing staff in higher education. Over three-quarters of UCU members who voted in a national ballot (77%) supported a sustained campaign of action to reverse this decision.
 
Losses for a typical lecturer are estimated at £120,000 in retirement. Contributions and retirement age are also rising on 1 October. The final salary element of the scheme will be replaced with a career-average scheme, as university employers seek to minimise their outlay on staff pensions. Meanwhile, the USS chief executive received a bonus - to the tune of £50,000 - as did 84 other USS investment staff.
 
UCU Essex president, Randy Banks, said: 'Employers waged a misinformation campaign, using taxpayer funds, to convince staff that USS was in trouble. However, the pension fund managers have agreed that USS is fully-funded and not in financial danger. We expect staff to rally round in protest and demand restitution of the long-standing pension scheme.'
 
UCU national executive member, Dr Steve Sangwine, said: 'University of Essex staff really value their pension rights. We have made our views of the detrimental changes crystal clear. If a settlement is not reached, we are prepared for a sustained campaign of industrial action to defend our pensions.'

Following the ballot, the union is discussing a long-term national plan of action to get underway in October. Friday's mock funeral and presentation of invoice is the first event in what promises to be a season of industrial unrest at the University of Essex.
 

Last updated: 5 July 2016

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