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| RTUC delegate, John Oversby joins the UCU picket line on Shinfield Road |
Reading Trades Union Council (RTUC) is proud to support the ongoing industrial action by the University and College Union (UCU) which is engaged in a long battle to defend their members' pension rights against the employers (University of Reading locally). Strike action occurred from 14 to 18 February and on 21 to 22 February, with pickets established from 08:00 to 09:30 at the University of Reading's several entrances for the first four days and a virtual picket on day 5 due to the physical risks posed by Storm Eunice.
On 22 February, a Joint National Council meeting of the University Superannuation Scheme (USS, the university pension scheme's administrator) took place in which it was decided to reduce the value of pensions by 33% - though the vote only succeeded with the support of the chair's casting vote.
UCU continues to argue for the following alternative proposals to the employers - universities around the country, organised through Universities UK (UUK) - seeking USS to reflect these demands in a revised consideration:
* That USS should issue a moderately prudent, evidence-based valuation of the financial health of the university pension scheme as at 31 March 2022, to be issued for consultation in June;
* That employers agree to provide the following level of covenant support to facilitate a cost-sharing of current benefits throughout the 2022/23 scheme year: from 1 April 2022, 11% member/23.7% employer contributions until 1 October 2022; 11.8%/25.2% contribution thereafter;
* That employers agree to pay a maximum of 25.2% and members a maximum of 9.8% from 1 April 2023 so as to secure current benefits (or the best achievable as a result of the USS's moderately prudent, evidence-based valuation).
Under UUK’s plan, university staff would see an approximate 35% cut to their guaranteed retirement income based on a flawed USS valuation conducted in March 2020.
Strikers and sympathisers are encouraged to use the following communication tool to contact the Vice-chancellor of the University of Reading (or your local university, if not Reading) to express your views on the attack on university pensions: https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/12114/Email-your-VC-about-USS. Simply search for the institution nearest you and - when you click on the email link - you will get a template email (which you can customise if you wish) and be able to send off.
On Monday, 21 February, between 13:00 and 14:00 there was an online meeting and rally with guest speaker, Mike Otsuka, who is one of the reserve pensions negotiators for UCU (see his blog here: https://mikeotsuka.medium.com/ and his tweets here: @MikeOtsuka).
In addition to RTUC, Reading UCU has been supported on the picket lines by members of Southampton UCU and Oxford UCU. Representing RTUC on the picket lines were John Oversby (UCU), John Gilman and James Parker (both Unite the Union).
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| John Oversby and James Parker on the UCU picket line |
What is the USS dispute about?
The Universities Superannuation Service (USS) pension scheme has conducted a 2020 valuation and claims that contribution rates need to increase very significantly from the rate of 30.7% of salary (9.6% for members, 21.1% for employers) established under the 2018 valuation.
Both UCU and the employer representative, Universities UK (UUK) argue that these increases are not necessary and have not been properly justified. However, instead of continuing to challenge the increases, UUK has pushed through major changes and cuts to the guaranteed, defined benefit (DB) element of the scheme to prevent employers from having to pay significantly higher contributions.
The UUK cuts will drastically reduce the level of guaranteed retirement income provided to members of USS in return for their future service (benefits already built up will not change). They will affect every active member of USS but especially those nearer the start of their careers.
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| John Oversby and John Gilman of RTUC join the UCU picket line |
These proposed cuts come in the context of a decade of detrimental changes to USS contributions and benefits. As UCU has shown, the changes that have already taken effect between 2011 and 2019 will make a typical member of staff £240,000 worse off over the course of their career and retirement. The cuts from UUK would make things even worse.
***STOP PRESS***
On 24 March RTUC again joined the UCU picket at University of Reading.
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