Category Archives: Pensions

What’s it all about: Pensions

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A busy day started with another great turnout on the picket, followed by a Q&A session in the Student Union, and then later a members meeting with guest speakers Mark Taylor-Batty and Jackie Grant from the UCU team of USS national negotiators.

The next Q&A session at the Student Union will be Tuesday 14 Feb from 11-11.30. This is a great opportunity to engage with our student community. Thank again to our students for your steadfast support, and to Adnan, Juliette, and Wolf.

The pensions dispute

In the Spring off 2020 the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) conducted a valuation at a particularly inopportune moment, just as the markets crashed, and used this to claim that to maintain our benefits in retirement contributions would need to rise substantially.

At the time both of UCU and Universities UK (UUK) recognised considerable flaws in the methodology. Unfortunately UUK, our employers’ representative body, decided to push through with cuts instead of challenging the USS valuation.

The cuts significantly affect the income which we can expect to receive in retirement from service after April 2022. It is estimated that 196,000 staff will loose between 30 and 35% of guaranteed income in retirement. This comes on top of cuts applied between 2011 and 2019 which had already reduced a typical retirement pot by £240,000. The cuts also imposed a cap on inflation protection of 2.5%. At the time of writing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which USS use as their gauge of inflation is around 10%. This means that the future value of our pensions may be doubly impacted by these detrimental changes which were forced through by our employers.

We are demanding that our university Principals / Vice Chancellors retrospectively restore benefits to 2021 levels. The latest data suggests that the scheme is healthy and that the 2020 valuation was excessively pessimistic, and also that monitoring and governance at USS have been poor.

In the Joint Statements agreed for calling off the Assessment and Marking Boycott last summer, the senior leadership team at Heriot-Watt also agreed that the return of improved benefits to staff is a priority and that governance reform is needed.

There have been some movements but our benefits have not been restored. Bill Galvin the CEO of USS has agreed to step down and Guy Coughlan, the architect of the 2020 valuation has left. USS has so far only announced that it aims to improve benefits or reduce contributions by 1 April 2024.

This is simply not good enough, so for now we need to hold the line and keep the pressure on UUK and USS until we have a firm commitment that benefits will be restored to 2021 levels and that all future valuations are moderately prudent and evidence based.

If anyone is new to Heriot-Watt or new to picketing, or doesn’t know anyone on the picket line, please don’t be put off. Picket lines are very welcoming to everyone. Please come and introduce yourself to someone in a yellow high-vis vest and we will make you feel at home in no time.

If you are unable to attend in person please observe a virtual picket. Don’t work. Don’t engage with emails about work, other from UCU. Don’t attend meetings about work except for UCU teach-outs and members’ meetings.

The longer the picket line the shorter the dispute.

Online Members’ Meeting Thursday 9 February

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There will be a members’ meeting tomorrow at 2.00pm via Zoom. Our guest speaker, Jackie Grant elected USS negotiator on the JNC, will provide an update on the USS dispute.

Details on how to join the meeting have been sent by email.

It is now time to put your out-of-office on and down tools for another 2 days of strike action. You can see some examples on the UCU website at https://www.ucu.org.uk/Out-of-office or roll your own. Here is one that we prepared earlier:

I will not be responding to work-related emails on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 February, because I will be on strike.

I am taking part in industrial action over pay, working conditions, and pensions. If you are a student, please be patient. I will respond to your email on my return. If you are a member of staff who is in the USS pension scheme but not on strike please note that under the current employer proposals you can expect to lose between 30 and 50% of the projected value of your pension in retirement, and that your pay has been reduced by more than 20% in real terms since 2009 on top of all the extra work which you are expected to do for free.

You can find further information about the disputes at https://www.ucu.org.uk/rising and you can support us by joining the UCU and taking part in the industrial action or by donating to our local hardship fund. 

Our Students Support the Strikes

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Students Support the Strikes

A great turn-out for this first day of the latest wave of strike action. Support and hot drinks provided by our amazing Heriot-Watt Student Union and the Society for Progressive Students. A big thank-you to all.

Last week, Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) made a new offer in pay negotiations. Unfortunately, it failed to meet our demand for fair pay and better working conditions. Our vice chancellors are getting rich by ripping off staff and students. The fight continues. Next week we will on strike on Thursay and Friday and this action will continue to escalate until our employers come back with a fair offer.

If you have been affected by the strike action please write to the Principal and ask that he use his considerable influence to ensure that we all get treated fairly.

Next wave of strike action announced

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The first day in the next wave of strike action will be Wednesday 1 February, timed to coincide with TUC day of action aimed at defending our right to strike.There will be a picket from 8-10.30 am at the main entrance to the campus.

Lets make it the biggest picket Heriot-Watt has ever seen. The longer the picket line, the shorter the dispute.

The full list strike days announced fall as follows:

  • Week 1 – Wednesday 1 February
  • Week 2 – Thursday 9 and Friday 10 February
  • Week 3 – Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 February
  • Week 4 – Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 February (paused during ACAS)
  • Week 5 – Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 March (paused during ACAS)
  • (No action week commencing Monday 6 March)
  • Week 6 – Wednesday 15 (new date), Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March
  • Week 7 – Monday 20, Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March.

Some of the dates fall into our reading week but there are always plenty of additional tasks landed on our hardworking staff during this week, and professional services work as usual.

Taking Part in Strike Action

You do not have to tell your line manager or anyone else in advance whether you will participate in strike action. Heriot-Watt will circulate details on how and when to record strike action in the ERP system in due course.

Whether you tell your students that you will be on strike is up to you. The purpose of strikes is to create maximum disruption so that the employer returns to the negotiating table with an acceptable offer. Please encourage students to make their views about cancelled lectures known to the Principal. The Student Union supports our action.

We don’t want to strike, we don’t want to lose part of our salary. But we are forced to fight for our pay, pensions and better working conditions. There is a solution but our leadership are unwilling to make a fair offer. They are failing our staff and our students.

The Cost of Striking and Strike Pay

If you think you can’t afford to strike, as yourself whether you can afford the reduction in your pension, the year on year erosion of your pay adjusted for inflation, and all of the extra work which you effectively do for free.

The net cost of striking is often lower than you think and financial support is available from the national fighting fund and the local hardship fund.

Action Short of Strike (ASOS)

We remain in ASOS in the form of working to contract. Members should:

  • only fulfil the duties explicitly expressed in your contract
  • not undertake voluntary activities
  • not cover for absent colleagues
  • refuse to reschedule classes missed due to industrial action
  • remove materials for classes that would have taken place on strike days from online learning platforms

As things stand there will be no deductions for this form of ASOS at Heriot-Watt.

 

 

 

Industrial action and the next steps in the new year – Members’ Meeting on Monday 9 January

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Happy new year and a big thank-you to everyone who took part in the strike action and who continue to take part in ASOS, working to contract.

With UCEA refusing to make an offer we need to discuss how to get the employers’ bodies to negotiate seriously on pay and conditions and pensions.

We will be holding an extraordinary branch members’ meeting to discuss industrial action and make decisions about the next steps via Zoom on Monday 9 January at 4pm.

At the meeting motions will be put to the members to establish our branch position for the Branch Delegate Meeting on Tuesday 10 January and the Higher Education Committee on Thursday 12 January. It is important that this meeting is quorate, so please attend. Deciding on the next steps is crucial and we need to hear the views of members.

If you have not received instructions on how to join the Zoom meeting, please contact the branch office.

 

 

 

Book swap on Day 3 of the picket

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It was marvellous to see such well attended pickets on all days of the strike actions so far. Of course, those who are able to attend pickets are only a fraction of those taking action. It is the withdrawal of labour that counts. I hope the strike days also afforded members the opportunity for some rest.

Reporting your participation in strike action

The union has complied with all the cumbersome bureaucracy of properly notifying employers in advance of our intention to take action collectively and in which areas.

For this round of strikes, you will be asked to enter the information in ERP after the 6 December. You should fill in ERP accurately as this signals to the employer that our members did indeed take action in high numbers.

You do not need to supply any further information. The union has complied already with its duty to provide information.

Should UCEA and UUK require any further data on strike actio n- this was supplied to them in person by a *very large* data set flowing past both their offices and the negotiations giving both quantitative and qualitative feedback on the strength of feeling.

We look forwards to employers representatives redoubling their efforts to reach a settlement.

Deductions and hardship funds

Deductions will come out of wages in January and you can make applications to the national fighting fund and local hardship fund as soon as you have a payslip showing deductions. Further information can be found at the cost of striking and strike pay page on our website and we will continue to send out reminders.

If you are hourly paid and have already lost pay due to action please apply to the fighting fund now and contact ucu@hw.ac.uk if you require further assistance on what information to provide.

Power in a union, the workers united!

Each and every one of you taking action has an impact on the employer, the Branch and the union. All the action we have taken in the past has had an effect:

  • saving our pension from closure
  • preventing even greater pay erosion
  • winning local disputes and local statements.

It has also brought us to where we are today when we have pulled the whole sector out and sent a loud and clear message to UCEA and UUK.

We need to continue to show how vital our work is and how overworked we are by maintaining strong Action Short of a Strike- take back your evenings and your weekends, do not volunteer for extra tasks, do not make up for lectures missed on strike days and do not cover for absent colleagues.

This sector has for too long been reliant on more work for less pay. Enough is enough. Things cannot go on as they are, together we are fighting for change.

 

Day 2 on the picket with Sarah Boyack MSP and in Glasgow to represent our branch at the joint EIS-ULA / UCU rally

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Striking staff and visiting students with Sarah Boyack MSP and Daisy the dog

 

Another busy picket at HWU this morning. Visits from Daisy the dog and Sarah Boyack MSP. We tried a bit of cooking on the brasier before the amazing students from @hwunion and The Society of Progressive Students came to our rescue again with hot drinks and coffee. After this group photo it was straight over to Glasgow for some of our committee members who were taking part in the joint EIS-ULA / UCU rally in Glasgow.

The next strike day will be Wednesday 30 November and we need every member to take part in order to encourage our employers to settle this dispute and end the disruption. The longer the picket lines, the shorter the dispute.

The average hourly rate of university worker is just over £20 per hour while the average hourly rate of a VC is over £250 per hour. Quite staggering when you consider just how badly some universities are being run. We deserve better. It is time that our employers started to invest in staff instead of expensive IT systems which don’t deliver, shiny new validity projects while the rest of our campuses fall into a state of dilapidation and disrepair, and generous executive salaries and perks.

So far, we have seen the biggest and most widespread picket lines in the history of higher education. If you can’t make the picket, please use this draft letter template to contact your local MP/MSP and ask for their help to end this dispute.

On Wednesday there will also be a national rally in London and UCU Scotland rally in Edinburgh. Speakers at the Scottish rally will include UCU Scotland, STUC general secretary Roz Foyer, NUS Scotland president Ellie Gomersall, and MSPs. Assemble at 12:30 for 13:00 start at the Scottish Parliament concourse.

Huge picket turnout for Day 1 of strike action and visit by Richard Leonard MSP

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UCU picket line with Richard Leonard MSP (centre), the Student Progressive Society, and visitors from some of local schools.

A big thank-you to Richard Leonard MSP, the Society for Progressive Students, and all of hardy souls who braved a chilly start and heavy traffic to make their way to the picket lines this morning. A huge turnout of nearly 100 staff, students, and visitors.

It was a rare treat to be able to welcome some junior supporters whose teachers are also on strike for fair pay and secure work.

It is not rocket science Professor Richard A Williams, as a cub reporter discovered. All we want is equal pay for the same work and a secure future where we can afford to pay our bills and feed our families. While spending on vanity projects and Vice Chancellor pay has soared, our pay and pensions have been slashed.