Wednesday 1 December is the first day of nationwide strike action and ‘Action Short of a Strike’ by members of the Universities & Colleges Union (UCU) over pay and related issues as well as proposed changes to the USS pension scheme.  There will be three days of industrial action on Wednesday 1 – Friday 3 December, followed by a period of ‘Action Short of a Strike’.  We expect there will be some disruption to classes from 1-3 December but we do not expect the ‘Acton Short of a Strike’ to have any material impact on the University’s operations.

While we deeply regret any impact the UCU’s action may have on students and colleagues at the University, the industrial action is part of a national dispute – the University cannot resolve the pensions and pay issues locally.

The University community has already experienced significant disruption due to the pandemic and our priority is to minimise any further disruption to students over this period.

We therefore hope that the sector and the UCU can resolve this dispute without the need for further industrial action.

There is more on the USS information about the 2020 valuation and the USS 2020 valuation FAQs.

More information about the changes to USS benefits is available on the USS Employers site, which is owned and managed by Universities UK, including how will changes to USS benefits affect scheme members? [PDF]

Further information about the University’s Industrial Action Policy and FAQs, can be found on the Human Resources – Industrial action webpage.

First published: 26 November 2021

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Industrial action webpages