USS Pensions – Industrial Action Suspended

Dear students,

We look forward to welcoming you back for the start of summer term. I hope you were able to take some time for both relaxation and reflection over Easter.

It is good to be able to write with some positive developments on the industrial action that has affected Nottingham and some 60 other universities nationwide.

Many of you will know that on Friday it was confirmed that members of the University and College Union voted, with 64% in favour, to accept a proposal by Universities UK to maintain the USS pension scheme as it is until at least April 2019, while a jointly agreed independent panel of experts reviews the valuation of the scheme.

As a consequence, the UCU has now suspended its industrial action.

As I have written previously, the University supports this approach. I have maintained throughout this dispute that no single Vice-Chancellor could resolve the situation and that continued negotiation and consultation were the best ways to achieve a fair solution. We now have a way forward agreed by both parties in the negotiation.

There is, of course, some distance to travel before we see a full resolution, but early indicators are that the USS Trustee and the Pensions Regulator are positive about the approach.

I wish our UCU and UUK colleagues every success in agreeing a shared way forward determining a valuation that gives all parties confidence in securing a pension scheme which is generous, fair and sustainable for our staff now and in the future.

I am truly sorry for any disruption you will have experienced over the past weeks. This has been a challenging time for our University community and I fully appreciate the sadness, anger and frustration that has been expressed on all sides.

The University continues to make arrangements for examinations and assessments to ensure that you are not disadvantaged if you have missed any learning due to the industrial action.

Your Schools are taking steps to check that assessments, exams, coursework and other assignments reflect the learning that has taken place. You can expect that where a question or task requires learning that has been disrupted, this will be changed or replaced with an equivalent question or task covering material which has been delivered.

Importantly, we will maintain our quality and standards at all times, with full regard to the guidance from the Quality Assurance Agency and our Quality Manual, so that you can be assured that your examinations and assessments will be as robust as they always are.

The University will continue to update our Student FAQs with answers to the questions you may have around teaching, assessment and issues with regard to the industrial action, but do please keep in touch with your School for information specific to your circumstances.