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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

Fund’s embrace of employer-led reforms averts massive hikes in contributions

Employer representatives on joint negotiating committee push through Universities UK proposal with chair’s backing

Ending automatic inflationary increases in benefits should keep contributions below 30 per cent of salary, says joint statement

Universities UK on collision course with unions, which warn reforms could cost members thousands of pounds annually in retirement

Union says vice-chancellors’ shake-up would leave staff thousands of pounds out of pocket annually, but universities say current benefits are unaffordable

Proposals put forward in consultation could reduce increase in contributions from about 50 per cent to 34.7 per cent, according to fund chief executive

Universities Superannuation Scheme will develop ‘meaningful short-, medium- and long-term targets’ towards carbon neutrality

Action is clearly needed to shore up the USS, but the trustee needs to be more flexible, says Alistair Jarvis

UCU negotiator says UUK’s latest proposals are unlikely to win support

Union warns that employers ‘have offered very little to dissuade members from voting for another round of industrial action’

In letter to vice-chancellors, Universities UK says it is ‘disappointed’ sector’s biggest pension fund will not conduct a review of controversial valuation

Universities UK raises concern about influence of regulator on fund’s valuation, while indicating possible reforms to benefits

‘Unaffordable’ contribution increases proposed by Universities Superannuation Scheme mean member benefits may be up for debate once more

Universities UK says increases are unaffordable for employers and risk pricing even more staff out of scheme

Vice-chancellors criticise level of contributions proposed by Universities Superannuation Scheme

Discussions about how the UK’s largest pension scheme covers its deficit ought to consider whether all employers and members should pay the same rate, argues Paul Hamilton

Universities call for members to have option to reduce their contributions in return for different benefits

Academics may wish we weren’t here, but burying heads in the sand about the depth of the deficit is no longer viable, says Bernard Casey

Pension scheme’s annual report shows relationship with members worsening amid ongoing dispute over contributions

UK higher education’s biggest pension fund says Covid-related uncertainty on financial markets added £7 billion to shortfall in space of two months

If universities don’t commit to underwriting a riskier investment strategy, pension contributions will have to rise sharply, says Bill Galvin

Money to be taken automatically from members’ bank accounts to support UK union’s strike fund

Universities’ divestment policies are undermined by the USS’ continued investment in oil companies, says Bill Spence 

Members of the Universities Superannuation Scheme are about to vote on whether to lock in current members. But this might not be enough to safeguard the scheme’s solvency, says Bernard Casey

Concerns raised over pension scheme’s ability to judge its health after virus crisis market plunge

Radical changes may be on cards after stock market crash and interest rate cuts, say experts

Some members increasingly wary after 22 days of walkouts already this year, but many remain determined to win concessions from employers on pay and pensions

New documents show that economic downturn from coronavirus could lead to increased contributions

Negotiators ‘within reach of agreements’ as union cuts demands on pay rises and pension contributions, says general secretary

Leaked summary of report into Jane Hutton’s conduct on USS board says speaking to media ‘by no means a proportionate response’ when regulators were still investigating concerns

Union and employers refuse to make further concessions as 14 days of industrial action continue at 74 universities

Staff vent frustration that employers haven’t recognised the bigger picture behind the walkouts

Universities decline to make fresh offers on pay and pensions as union prepares for second round of industrial action

UCU faces debate over whether to compromise on demands over pay, pensions and working conditions

Striking again would rob students of vital lecture time and damage the progress we’ve made through bargaining, says one anonymous UCU member

Walkouts to escalate over February and March

Total number of union branches eligible to strike this year reaches 74

Birmingham v-c to step down from pension fund board this August

UCU says that universities should focus on solving dispute ‘instead of trying to spin their way out of this’

UCU, employers and USS will discuss the ongoing pensions row, following series of recommendations from expert panel  

Strikes threaten to spill into the new year, as little progress made in dispute

Universities Superannuation Scheme cautions that making governance changes swiftly could be challenging

Strikes notwithstanding, more pay restraint and greater pensions contributions from UK staff seem unavoidable, writes Bernard Casey

Current approach is ‘overly restrictive’ and does ‘not appear appropriate for an open, strong scheme’