Hands off our pensions, say British teachers

March 24, 2018 07:36 pm | Updated 07:43 pm IST

Over the past week, lecturers at universities across the U.K. tendered their resignations as external examiners at other institutions, thereby putting a potential spanner in student exams due to take place later this year. Their action, carried out at the suggestion of the University and College Union (UCU), was the latest step in what is emerging as the biggest ever industrial action taken by Britain’s academics.

Over 6,00,000 teaching hours are thought to have been lost over strikes that took place in February and March, in which lecturers took to picket lines. Further action is likely to take place later this year. The strike has extended from Oxbridge to London institutions such as the SOAS and King’s College right up to Edinburgh University.

The protests centre on plans to alter the pensions arrangements of university lectures, ending the defined benefit element of their Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which UCU estimates would leave lecturers around £10,000 a year worse off during their retirement. While defined benefit arrangements may have faded out of the private sector, they have been seen as an essential part of the pay and retirement packages of the academic world, and the change has triggered anger in a way few situations have before. While the strike has angered some students, it has received much support too — the National Union of Students is backing the action. Student action in support of the striking lecturers has taken place across the country.

The unity displayed by sections of the student body and academics highlights the unhappiness and concern with the wider direction of Britain’s higher education sector, says Priyamvada Gopal, a lecturer in Cambridge University’s Faculty of English. “This is just the latest prong of action that is turning universities into marketised, corporate bodies…“ says Ms. Gopal.

Deepening concerns

Universities U.K. argues that pensions arrangements as they currently exist are unaffordable, and that with the USS having a deficit of £6.1 billion, an extra £1 billion would be needed to maintain current benefits, which would have to come from cuts to teaching and research. However, following questions over the size of the deficit, Universities U.K. has commissioned an independent panel to review the valuation process for the pension scheme.

Following the introduction of tuition fees for students in 1998, changes in 2010 enable universities to charge fees of up to £9,250 a year. With deepening concerns — and forecasts that students will graduate with average debts of over £50,000 — the government has commissioned a review, that could include charging variable fees for courses. Rising tuition fees have done little to improve the working conditions in universities, with many academics citing an increased focus on administrative tasks, assessments, the meeting of targets, and expectations of work well beyond contracted hours. At the same time, there has been a major national debate on the disparities between the pay of university Vice-Chancellors and academics.

“Many of the academics who’ve come out to join the strike action didn’t see themselves as people at the end of managerial exploitation... I think the threat of losing about half their pensions has brought impoverishment onto the horizon and the realisation that they are not exempt from the profound changes in the industry,” says Ms. Gopal. “For some people, it’s a deeply felt sense of betrayal. They didn’t expect to be considering poverty and are now looking down the barrel of it.”

Vidya Ram works for The Hindu and is based in London

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