University staff in new industrial action

Students from the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University could be affected after lecturers and academic staff from 67 universities across the UK began industrial action in a dispute against changes to their pension schemes.

The staff from universities that are members of the University and College Union (UCU), are initiating a “work to contract” which will see them fulfilling their contracted hours and working no overtime. They will also refuse to cover for colleagues and attend meetings.

The decision to take action was made following a disagreement over the universities’ superannuation scheme (USS), which is one of the largest private pension schemes in the UK.

The UCU are unhappy after changes they opposed were introduced regardless on 1 October.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU, inferred that employers were unwilling to continue negotiations. “Despite our best efforts to resolve this dispute, we cannot negotiate with an empty chair. Our action will start today [10 October] and will see thousands of UCU members at universities across the country stop going the extra mile.”

There are fears that the current industrial action could escalate into strikes, including the refusal to mark students’ work, if the situation is not resolved quickly, something which would impair the education of millions of students.

Euan Bain, a fourth year student at the University of Edinburgh, said he was concerned that any potential strike may affect his degree. He told The Journal: "I support my lecturers as I appreciate that they are overworked, however the additional work that they are proposing to stop could make a real difference in the degree classification that I leave with.”

The University and College Union was founded in 2006 following a merger between the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and the National Association of Teachers in Higher and Further Education (NATFHE).