Members of the University and College Union have backed strike action over pension cuts at 37 of 68 institutions. The union said universities now need to urgently revoke the pension cuts and return to the negotiating table to avoid strike action, but employers say contributions are unaffordable without the proposed changes.

The UCU said that overall, 76% of UCU members who voted backed strike action, and 88% voted in favour of action short of strike. The ballot covered 68 universities. The overall turnout was at 53%, just above the legally required threshold of 50%.

"These results are a clear mandate for strike action over pension cuts and should be heard loud and clear by university employers," said UCU general secretary Jo Grady.

"It is now in the gift of employers to avoid strike action, which is the outcome staff want as well. All management need to do is withdraw their needless cuts and return to negotiations. If they fail to do so, any disruption will be entirely their responsibility," she added.

UCU said the ballot result reflected staff anger over cuts to the Universities Superannuation Scheme pensions which would reduce the retirement income of a typical member by 35%. University employer body Universities UK, which represents 340 employers in USS, says figures by the trustees show that the proposed changes could reduce pensions by around 10-18% for a range of example members.

UUK had agreed on pension changes in August which mean benefits would build up more slowly, warning that contribution levels would become unaffordable for members and employers without these, but UCU said a recent valuation of USS was "flawed" because it was carried out at the start of the pandemic, when global markets fell.

"Employers continue to insist on imposing the cuts despite markets recovering and the pension scheme’s assets growing to unprecedented levels," said UCU, which argued that in negotiations, employers had refused to agree a contributions increase.

The union’s higher education committee will meet on 12 November to decide whether and when to re-ballot some branches, as nearly half did not vote for strike action.

A Universities UK spokesperson, on behalf of USS employers, said the union has failed to secure a mandate for industrial action in 31 of the 68 institutions where ballots took place on USS, meaning fewer branches have reached the threshold than in previous ballots. 

“These results suggest that support for industrial action is limited. In most places where the threshold was reached, it was the votes of those saying 'no' to action that carried the numbers over the 50% legal threshold," the spokesperson claimed.

“The employers’ proposals for reform are the only viable plans under current regulations that will keep the scheme affordable for members and universities and keep the defined benefit section of the scheme open. Discussions with UCU will continue, and the consultation is currently taking place with the scheme’s wider membership," they added.

As part of the pension change package, a taskforce of employer, union and USS representatives and their actuarial advisers is being established "to explore alternative models for scheme design" such as conditional indexation. UUK also said staff could be given flexibility to contribute less than the current mandatory rate of 9.8% of salary. UUK has asked USS to model both defined benefit and defined contribution options for scheme redesign.

UUK said universities facing the prospect of industrial action were well prepared to mitigate the impact on students’ learning. Last year, UK universities saw 14 days of walkouts over pensions, pay and working conditions.

A USS spokesperson said: “We understand the concerns of USS members faced with proposals for higher contributions or benefits that will build up more slowly in the future. But the fundamental truth is that the price of promising a set, inflation-protected income for life in retirement – paid no matter what happens to the economy or the Higher Education sector in future – is much more expensive today than in the past." 

 

“The [Joint Negotiating Committee]’s proposals – enabled by a very substantial commitment negotiated by the trustee from employers to support their covenant to the scheme – put USS on a more sustainable footing for the long term. They secure the future of this rare and valuable scheme in a way that is affordable to members and employers," the spokesperson said, adding that under the changes proposed, USS would be among the relatively few private DB pension schemes in the country still open to new members.