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Head of UK higher education’s biggest pension scheme to depart once successor is appointed

Biggest sector fund believes it is £1.8 billion in the black, after fears of multibillion-pound deficits led to cuts to benefits

Dramatic change in context could help union secure mandate for broader action but scale of challenge remains daunting

But rising inflation means that the pension scheme’s recently reported funding position is likely to be over-optimistic, says Bill Galvin

Head of university employers’ body talks upcoming industrial action, cost-of-living crisis and future of collective bargaining

Only 17 per cent of those enrolled in UK’s largest higher education pension scheme reported positive relationship after changes to retirement benefits

In-depth look at scheme’s finances confirms deficit has shrunk since last valuation but ‘volatile market’ means benefits cannot be improved, yet.

Academics’ pension fund adds famous holiday camps to growing portfolio of assets as it seeks to shore up finances post-pandemic

Principal says institution not able to ‘take new students onto programmes where staff refuse to deliver the promised education’

Consultation opens into the terms, scope and structure of the review, which aims to identify ‘meaningful and implementable’ changes

Switch to aggregated voting means staff at 149 UK universities could walk out if union gets majority turnout and support

Universities urged to rule out taking advantage of planned redrawing of UK legislation

One-word responses such as ‘excellent’ and ‘perfect’ been given to those taking assessments

Those who earn less than £40,000 a year face losing about 30 per cent of the value of their pension, according to ‘first global analysis’

Local union branches secure major wins in long-running disputes but others left with nothing

Improved benefits or lower contributions could be possible if positive pension fund scheme performance continues

Union accuses employers of ‘needlessly aggressive and escalatory tactics’

UK higher education’s biggest pension fund clocks up second legal victory in a week

Universities seek to win over staff with bonuses and consider subcontracting assessment

Industrial action will no longer take place at several campuses over the summer

Warwick statistician drops employment tribunal case without settlement

Jane Hutton tells tribunal that months of her concerns being rebuffed forced her to become a whistleblower and disclose information to outside sources

Academics at 44 institutions to refuse to mark work or set exams in midst of busy summer assessment period, in ongoing row over pay and pensions

UCU pushes on with shrinking rounds of strike action despite calls to regroup and rethink

University and union branch offer ‘exit strategy’ as further walkouts prepared in long-running dispute

Disruption will hit summer assessment period, but employers call on unions to ‘move on’

Universities UK says contributions could be cut or benefits increased as USS finances bounce back after pandemic, but unions want reforms to be cancelled now

Hundreds of academics refuse to take part in system as part of ongoing industrial action, prompting institutions to draw up contingency plans

Universities’ oligarchic control of degree provision and metrics’ misguided focus are shortchanging both students and academics, says Murdoch Gabbay

Sunny start to the latest round of UK industrial action couldn’t mask the frustrations felt by many union members

Union leaders insist support for further strikes is strong but new pressures may harden university leaders’ resolve, experts warn

Union announces new ballot as disputes over pay and pensions remain unresolved

University and College Union members will again walk out over pay, pensions and working conditions

University refuses to pay staff who have returned to work until they reschedule lectures lost to last round of walkouts

Unless pay and conditions improve at UK universities, quality and diversity will enter a downward spiral, says Maria Sobolewska

Dispute over future of Universities Superannuation Scheme far from over, says union

Tone of threats ‘of a different calibre than before’ says examiner who left her QMUL post

Improving deficit of Universities Superannuation Scheme post-pandemic strengthens case for further valuation, says union

UCU claims ‘huge’ support but employers’ association reports ‘low levels’ of disruption

Universities legally entitled to make deductions, but UCU attacks ‘unfair and unprofessional response’

More than 1 million students on 68 campuses to be affected, as union splits walkouts by dispute

As more strikes loom, UCU believes fresh assessment of pension fund would show employers’ justification for cuts has ‘evaporated’

Union faces divisions internally as well as impasse with vice-chancellors in negotiations

Further walkouts expected in disputes over pay, pensions and working conditions

Unhappiness over guidance on rearranging classes affected by industrial action may force a rethink

Amid another round of strikes, the pension scheme chair’s assertion that changes are unavoidable cannot stand unchallenged, says Neil Davies

Undergraduates and postgraduates express sympathy for lecturers who have also struggled with shift online during pandemic

Intellectual property rights are likely to rest with lecturers despite university ownership claims, say legal experts

The latest USS valuation may have been conducted amid crashing markets, but there is no escaping the need for changes, says Kate Barker

UCU to reballot 42 branches that narrowly missed turnout threshold

Staff at 58 universities set to walk out

University and College Union general secretary says sector leaders who focused on turnout were ‘not listening to a consistent message that staff have been delivering to them’

Experts say exhaustion and worry over disruption to students hit appetite for industrial action but shouldn’t mask the unhappiness across sector

Inequality, Covid exhaustion, sympathy for students, fear of public opinion and frustration with UCU tactics are all factors, says Glen O’Hara

Combined with results of pensions ballot, union has mandate for walkouts at less than four in 10 institutions polled

Barely half of campuses pass 50 per cent voting threshold required for walkouts to go ahead

Union urges education secretary to intervene on student loan changes and to press university bosses into talking on disputes

UCU leader Jo Grady claims action is needed as ‘staff at breaking point’ but employers say latest 1.5 per cent pay offer is ‘fair and meaningful’

Union members at 152 UK institutions asked to walk out for fourth time in little over three years

Walkouts expected as government decides on English reforms in wake of Covid disruption