AN URGENT MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE YORK LOCAL ASSOCIATION
You may well have already seen the news that following the decisions of a delegate conference of UCU members of USS (where the York branch was represented), all our USS members will be balloted on industrial action in support of UCU’s campaign for a decent outcome to current negotiations on the restructuring of our pension scheme.
Ballot papers will reach each of you later on this week or at the start of next week, and your branch executive is urging every member to vote and to vote YES both to strike action and to non-strike action, which will include a boycott of exam setting and marking. We know that this is a tough ask, but if we want to have any impact on the negotiations we need to show how strongly we feel about this attack on our pay and conditions
Over the next week UCU will be distributing material which sets out just how poor the scheme proposed by our employers is, and how it will affect staff wherever they are in their careers; please help us to ensure that this information reaches all members and encourage them to vote YES in the ballot.
The branch executive will be happy to meet with any department or group of members who would find it useful to have a briefing session about the dispute to seek further information and raise concerns. PLEASE CONTACT PAT POOLE ON pat.poole @york.ac.uk TO ARRANGE THIS.
Reasons to vote YES
-
Without significant industrial action, the proposed changes to your pension entitlement will be imposed: our negotiators have told us that they need the strongest possible message and mandate from members. Given the amount members stand to lose from the employers’ proposals we have no choice but to ask you to take serious action. For information how the proposals will affect us, go to: ;
-
The employers are overreacting to the likely deficit in the scheme whose size is seriously contested; the scheme is in fact growing, and we know that employers in USS institutions are in a position to offer pensions comparable to those offered by the TPS scheme to staff in post-1992 institutions;
-
Failure to offer a decent pension scheme in places like York will quickly lead to recruitment and retention problems as talented colleagues seek work elsewhere;
-
It has been agreed that any attempt by individual employers to respond punitively to action taken by members in any one institution will be met by a national response;
In the event of action taking place, particular attention will be paid to the issues faced by casualised staff and postgraduates who teach; UCU nationally is looking into how best to support them.
Press coverage on the issue:
Times Higher –
Telegraph –
We need the largest possible turnout and YES vote at York, so please support the action and help us to achieve this
