Notice of further UCU ballot announced

The University has received formal notice from the University and Colleges Union (UCU) that it intends to ballot its members for industrial action in relation to the ongoing dispute over reform of the USS pensions scheme, including the already concluded 2020 valuation and changes to the scheme that took effect in April this year that have positively impacted the scheme deficit.

The ballot will open on 6 September for 7 weeks, closing on 21 October. Rather than a branch-level vote as with the last ballot, which did not reach the legally required threshold here in Reading, this ballot will be conducted at national level.

Declaration of the intention to ballot follows a letter of demands recently sent to Vice-Chancellor Robert Van de Noort, and other Vice-Chancellors. You can read the full UCU demands letter and Robert’s response, in which he noted:

“I am genuinely concerned that UCU’s national leadership is actively seeking to prolong this dispute despite there being no mechanism to change the outcome of the now finalised 2020 USS valuation. Such dispute serves only to delay necessary changes to the scheme, disadvantage colleagues and students, and cause ongoing damage to the higher education sector to which we are all committed. Employers cannot reasonably be expected to avoid further disruptions by agreeing to the UCU’s proposals at any cost.

“I understand that the UCU is also campaigning on the issue of pay. I am sure you are aware that we have a three-year local agreement in place, negotiated very positively and mutually agreed with our local UCU branch colleagues in summer 2020. This agreement was last reviewed in May this year and will next be reviewed in September 2022. We will continue to encourage this collaborative approach locally with our UCU branch representatives, as it is only through mutual cooperation rather than intransigence that any ongoing disputes can be resolved.”