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Consultation meeting on USS and Four Fights disputes, Friday, 2-3pm on Zoom

22 May 2020

Today at 2pm we meet to discuss the current position with the two national disputes: USS and Four Fights (pay, casualisation, equality and workload).

To attend this meeting please RSVP using this form. At 1pm we will send out the link to join the meeting to all who pre-register.

Colleagues will note that we won two industrial action ballots, with a vote of 80% for strike action and 90% for ASOS in both disputes, in a ballot that closed at the end of October 2019. We took 20 days out of a scheduled 22 days of strike action before the Covid-19 lockdown meant that the term was curtailed. That ballot mandate expired after 6 months.

We have made some progress in negotiations and have received two offers in both disputes. 

On USS:

  • We have successfully pressured Universities UK, the employers organisation, to side with UCU over de-risking and ‘Test 1’, leading to important improvements in the funding methodology. In part this is because UUK has become convinced that it is in their best interests to do so, and in part because UCU members made it clear we would not accept further cuts in benefits or increases in costs.
  • We have not made progress on the imposed increase in employee contributions above 8%. Future valuations may be based on problematic methodologies and lead to further contribution increases.

On Four Fights:

  • The UCEA offer sets out ‘expectations’ that employers will reduce their dependence on casualised employment contracts, carry out steps to address gender and race pay gaps, and attempt to address workload problems from a health and safety perspective. None of these recommendations are binding on employers.
  • However, the employers have not increased their pay offer above 1.8%. Some employers have signalled they intend to implement it 11 months late. The employers are currently declining to meet with the trade unions to discuss pay for 2020-21.

Details of these offers are in a letter from the General Secretary.

Please also consider the statement from the UCU USS National Disputes Committee.

With the exception of the 14 branches with a current mandate, for other union members to take further action in pursuit of these demands we would need to reballot our members. 

The meeting is to debate the next steps that the union must take and what our branch position should be on these. 

These questions include:

  • Should UCU accept or reject these offers as the basis for ending the disputes? 
  • Is this the time for UCU to engage in a consultative ballot of members to end these disputes? 
    • If yes, should UCU advise members to accept or reject?
    • If no, should UCU indicate what period of balloting should be undergone? When should the ballot start and end, and what campaigning should be undergone?
    • Would we be in favour of adjusting claims to take account of the changed conditions as a result of the Covid-19 financial crisis?

Please come to the meeting to discuss these questions so we can represent the views of our members at future meetings.

UCL UCU Executive Committee