The pensions dispute between universities and their staff moved closer to resolution on Tuesday after four days of strike action. Following a two-hour meeting in London, the two sides announced a joint attempt at arbitration through the industrial conciliation service Acas.
Both union and employers remained guarded over the details. But a move to arbitration represented a promising shift on the part of the employers, represented by the Universities UK (UUK) group, which had said its pension proposals would not be subject to negotiation.
The University and College Union (UCU) said its planned strikes would continue across the UK, with a fifth consecutive day of industrial action taking place on about 60 campuses on Wednesday. A further four days of strikes are scheduled to begin on 5 March.
The dispute concerns employers’ claims that the main university pension scheme faces financial difficulties unless fixed retirement incomes are dropped, a claim that is hotly disputed by many staff, who include librarians, administrators, specialists and academics.
Representatives from UCU said it had tabled proposals that would provide a guaranteed pension for members of the universities superannuation scheme (USS) at approximately half the extra cost of its previous proposals. The USS is one of the largest private pension schemes in the UK.
The UCU proposals would require universities to accept a higher rate of risk, in the unlikely event of universities going bankrupt or closing, while overall contributions would increase by 4.1%, with nearly two-thirds of the additional cost to be borne by universities.
Sally Hunt, UCU’s general secretary, said the union was pleased that the university leaders had agreed to further talks. “At the core of our proposals is for universities to accept a small amount of increased risk, but only at a level a majority have recently said they are comfortable with. Doing this would enable us to provide a decent, guaranteed pension at a more modest cost with smaller contribution increases.”
A spokesperson for UUK said the talks on Tuesday had been positive. “Further talks are being arranged. In the interest of students we have asked UCU to stop the industrial action while talks continue to find an alternative, viable and affordable solution. Both parties agreed to involve Acas in facilitating further talks to bridge the significant distance between both sides.”
As the strike action has intensified, a number of vice-chancellors have appeared publicly at odds with the UUK position. Anton Muscatelli, principal of the University of Glasgow and a USS board member, published a joint statement with the university’s UCU branch backing the current pension arrangements. “I very much hope that an early settlement can be found to the dispute. In the meantime we will continue to do all we can to minimise the impact on students,” he said.
In Liverpool, a group of students occupied offices near those of its vice-chancellor, Janet Beer, who is also the president of UUK. Cat Mahoney, a research administrator in Liverpool’s humanities department, was on a UCU picket line outside Beer’s offices. “We have been overwhelmed by the support from students. It clearly demonstrates that this is an issue that affects everyone,” she said.
A University of Liverpool spokesperson said: “Around a dozen people are occupying a general meeting room on the fifth floor of the Foundation building, which is otherwise open as normal.”
原文地址：https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/27/university-staff-pension-dispute-moves-to-acas
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