Update on 2010 Negotiations

At the final New JNCHES meeting held on 28 July, UCEA continued to refuse national level talks to develop jointly-agreed proposals to improve job security. With fears that over 22,000 jobs are at risk, this refusal is
unacceptable and irresponsible. The employers’ final offer to the joint
unions was for an increase on pay points of 0.4%. With RPI running at
5.0%, the employers’ offer represents a real-terms pay cut for the second
year running. The five trade unions accused the HE employers of refusing
to engage in meaningful national negotiations in response to the first
ever joint union claim. It should be noted that the offer also failed even
to address many other aspects of the claim, including measures to improve equality in the sector. For example, the employer failed to make an offer in response to the modest claims from the trade union to:

· remove the bottom two pay points of the national pay spine and its
extension at the top to create additional points beyond point 51

· assimilate hourly-paid staff to the national pay spine

· produce joint proposals to close the gender pay gap

· develop a national system for the remuneration of external examiners

UCU negotiators rejected the employers’ offer. The union has written to
UCEA to inform them that we consider there has been a breakdown in the
negotiating process. Those HEIs that are party to the national
negotiations have also been written to informing them that we consider a
dispute to exist and informing them that unless UCEA make a more credible offer then the union is mandated to ballot members for industrial action. The Higher Education Committee has agreed that in the absence of an agreement, there will be a ballot for industrial action in September.
Branches/LAs should be making the arrangements for branch/LA meetings and for delivering a ‘yes’ vote.

For more details, see the latest HE News (.pdf)

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One minute of your time needed
to save the Nursery:

The campaign to save the Nursery is now entering a critical phase. There is little sign of progress and there is now the danger that Nursery staff may be issued with formal redundancy notices any day. Once this happens, saving the Nursery will become more difficult to achieve.

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Lobby Lewisham Council Wed 14 July 5:15-6:30PM, Town Hall, 1 Catford Road

The lobby coincides with a meeting of the Lewisham Mayor and Cabinet,
during which they will vote on £31m of cuts, including the closure of 5
libraries, cuts to Adult Social Care and other services. This will lead to
the loss of many jobs and Council buildings. Please come and show your
opposition.

Details of the lobby and the proposed cuts can be seen in this leaflet:
http://homepages.gold.ac.uk/ucu/flyers/CutsLobby.pdf

Urgent: employers' proposals for USS accepted at JNC

The deadlock in negotiations over the future of the University Superannuation Scheme (USS) has been broken and it is NOT to our advantage.

Talks, between UCU and the University Employers Pension Federation (EPF), which have been going on for over two years, have come to an end.

For the first time in the history of the USS Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) its independent chair, currently Sir Andrew Cubie, has used the Chair's casting vote. Andrew Cubie cast his vote in favour of the employer's proposals for changing USS.

This means that the EPF proposals will go to the Trustee Board of USS
before the end of July, where they will almost certainly be agreed, and
then go out for 'consultation' in late summer or early autumn.
Implementation of USS rule changes, following the 'consultation', is
likely to be set for the beginning of April 2011.

Sally Hunt, UCU General Secretary, has warned of industrial action in the
wake of the JNC decision and has been highly critical of EPF's proposals. An on-line ballot of UCU members, earlier this year, demonstrated a very high level of engagement amongst members with the future of the university sector pension Scheme. It also demonstrated high levels of support for UCU's proposals for changing USS [see:http://www.ucu.org.uk/defenduss].

In brief the EPF package will turn USS into a two tier pension scheme. It
includes the following changes to USS:

* An increase in the normal retirement age for all members by five years
to 65 (although existing members over the age of 55 will be exempt from
this change)
* An increase in contributions from salary to USS for all members from
6.35% to 7.5% (that is by 18 percent)
* Employer contributions to USS, which went up from 14% to 16% last year, will be pegged at 16%.
* New entrants to the scheme will be denied the option of a final salary
pension scheme. USS will become a career average (CARE) scheme for new joiners; this is likely to apply from 1 April 2011.

A UCU News update on the issues and the likelihood of industrial action
can be found at: http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=4738 .

Goldsmiths UCU members should also be aware of a likely change in the way USS indexes pensions once they are in payment. Although the probable change in indexation has arisen independently of the JNC's consideration of the EPF and UCU proposals members should be aware that it is highly likely that USS will move from uprating pensions in line with the RPI to a link with CPI. This almost certainly means a lower rate of annual increase in USS pensions in future.

Ed Randall - Goldsmiths Branch, UCU Pension Officer

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Study Opportunities for trade unionists at Working Lives Research Institute

The Working Lives Research Institute at London Metropolitan University is currently recruiting for The Certificate in Professional Development (CPD)in Union Learning for September 2010 start. The CPD was put together in collaboration with trade unions and is geared around the needs of adult students and their unions.The course has been specifically designed with Union Learning Representatives in mind. However the course content will appeal to those individuals with a general interest in union learning and other union reps.

See the website for details or download a flyer. Read comments from former students here.

You can apply for the course here.

For more information, please contact Dr Cilla Ross, c.ross@londonmet.ac.uk Or telephone Jawad, Working Lives Office, 02073203057.

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Vote on the motion on Academies by email

Read the motion text here. To vote, email gucu-admin@gold.ac.uk with YES or NO. We will need 45 YES votes for the motion to pass.

'Day in the Life' UCU video: