What is happening?

Over 42,000 University staff at 64 Universities have been on strike in February and March. This means that they have not been working, and won’t be paid for days they miss work.

Future strike days are planned if the dispute is not resolved. When back at work many staff are taking “Action Short of A Strike” which means that they don’t do work not specified in their contract.

The strike has forced a number of concessions from employers. Striking staff are currently discussing the latest proposals, released on 23rd March, before a vote on whether to reject or accept them. Here’s one view about the proposals.

Why are University staff striking?

Short answer: Because of proposed changes to the pension scheme, called USS, which covers many University staff, particularly those at older UK Universities.

What are the proposed changes

The proposed changes are to change both the amount of the pension, and to the way it is calculated. Currently the scheme is a ‘Defined Benefit’ scheme, which pays out a guarenteed amount when you retire. The proposal is to change it to a ‘Defined Contribution’ scheme, which does not pay out a guarenteed amount. Additionally, the best guesses are that if the proposed changes go through the scheme will pay out a lot less.

Both the reduction in the amount of pension and the change to the way the pension works matter. Many staff argue that the difference in amount makes the difference between being able to live comfortably in retirement and living in poverty. The change from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution changes the way risk due to economic changes is managed by the pension fund. The proposed changes move risk from the scheme (which has to pay out even if the investments don’t grow) to the individual employees (who will get lower pension payments if investments don’t grow).

What is disputed

The key to understanding the dispute is not just that University staff are being offered less and demanding more, but rather the University staff dispute the need for changes to the pension, as well as the nature of the proposed changes. To understand why we think the proposed pension changes are not just unfair, but unnecessary you need to learn a bit more about how the health of the pension pot is evaluated, as well as how UUK is governed.