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UCU Industrial Action: Need to Know 

What are UCU’s demands in the pay and working conditions dispute? 

On the pay and working conditions dispute, UCU demands: 

•  an increase to all spine points on the national pay scale of at least inflation (RPI) + 2% or 12% whichever is the higher 

• nationally-agreed action, using an intersectional approach, to close the gender, ethnic and disability pay gaps 
• an agreed framework to eliminate precarious employment practices by universities 
• nationally agreed action to address excessive workloads and unpaid work, to include addressing the impact that excessive workloads are having on workforce stress and ill-health 
• for the standard weekly, full-time contract of employment to be 35 hours, with no loss of pay. 

 

What are UCU’s demands in the USS pensions dispute? 

• UCU members demand employers to revoke the massive cuts which they imposed on members of the USS pension scheme, and put pressure on USS to restore benefits to 2021 levels as soon as possible (YSJ UCU Staff are not members of the USS pension scheme but stand in solidarity with colleagues elsewhere who are). 
• UCU also want UUK to put strong pressure on USS to ensure that the next and all subsequent valuations of the financial health of the scheme to be evidence-based and are moderately prudent. 

Prudence should be defined in terms of the likelihood of all pensions being paid from investment returns and contributions going forward. Future valuations should be realistic reflections of the underlying strength of the scheme and the UK higher education sector. 

Please note that for the USS dispute the union negotiates with Universities UK (UUK), which is separate from the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).