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Cutting through the spin on USS #2

This UoN UCU’s response to UoN’s post about USS – UoN text in black, UCU response in red. 

Reporting latest developments on USS pension, UoN failed to accurately report what happened at JNC and UCU actions. We take this opportunity to rectify information and put some of the statements reported in context.

The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) has decided to progress the employers’ proposal for changes to the USS pension scheme to consultation with scheme members and representative bodies.

The decision means that scheme members could avoid significant increases in their contributions, which the USS Trustee has said it would otherwise be required to implement, going up from the current 9.6% to 18.6% of their salary from as soon as April 2022.

USS argued that to keep benefits unchanged, contribution rates need to increase to somewhere between 42% and 57% (cfr. 26% pre-2018 dispute). This is based on a flawed valuation of the scheme in March 2020 (see below) and essentially is a rip off.

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Looking ahead to autumn term 2021-2022. The Delta variant: how to protect staff and students

As we look ahead to the 2021-2022 session, it is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic will still affect our daily lives. The success of the vaccination campaign in the UK notwithstanding, it would be premature to declare the pandemic over. At the moment, there is a lot of discussion about whether government guidelines for Higher Education institutions at the national level are sufficient and about whether the decisions made by Senior Management of The University of Nottingham do enough to keep students and staff safe. One of the key issues here is whether these guidelines and decisions incorporate the latest scientific advice on Covid-19 and, in particular, on the now dominant Delta variant.

The current teaching blueprint at the University of Nottingham seeks to maximise face to face teaching, whilst recommending vaccination, the wearing of face covering indoors and weekly testing. However, these are mere recommendations which means that they cannot be enforced. In addition, staff have been asked to return to campus for face to face teaching.

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