Shadow education secretary has said today (Tuesday)
that she “fully supports” members of the University and College
Union (UCU) fighting for fair pay and decent pensions, while
calling for urgent talks to try and resolve the disputes.
In a statement, she warned that “falling pay, rising workloads
and increasingly insecure employment” are undermining careers in
higher education, and said recent changes to the Universities
Superannuation Scheme (USS) “risk pricing staff in many
institutions out of their pension provision”.
UCU members at sixty-nine institutions are currently being
balloted in the row over USS pensions, while members at 147
institutions are being balloted at the same time as part of a
dispute over pay, workloads, casualisation and equality. The
ballots will close on Wednesday 30 October and the union's higher
education committee will meet to consider the results on Friday 1
November.
The shadow secretary called on both sides to “urgently return to
unconditional talks” and work together to find a “sensible
solution which addresses these important issues”. UCU welcomed
the statement and said it was fully prepared to meet the
employers in good faith for further negotiations.
Shadow education secretary said: ‘The success of our
higher education sector is built on the hard work and dedication
of thousands of staff. Ensuring that we can continue to attract
talented people to work in our universities and deliver education
for the public good is crucially important.
‘I am deeply concerned that a combination of falling pay, rising
workloads and increasingly insecure employment is making a career
in higher education less sustainable. On top of this, recent
changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) risk
pricing staff in many institutions out of their pension provision
altogether.
‘All staff in our universities deserve fair pay, a secure
contract, a sensible workload, opportunities for professional
development and a decent, affordable pension. I fully support
higher education staff in their fight to defend pay and pensions
for the future, but I also know that students and parents will
want to see the current disputes resolved as soon as possible and
avoid unnecessary disruption.
‘I am therefore calling on both sides to urgently return to
unconditional talks, assisted by ACAS as appropriate, and
negotiate for as long as it takes to agree a way forward.
‘In building the National Education Service, Labour will put
investment in education staff at the heart of our plans; I urge
the employers and USS to do the same by working with trade unions
to find a sensible solution which addresses these important
issues.’
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘UCU welcomes the call by
for unconditional talks
aimed at resolving these disputes. For our part, we are fully
prepared to meet the employers in good faith for further
negotiations on the two disputes now facing the sector.’
