Is this the JEP (Joint Expert Panel) you voted for? Chris
Grocott, University of Leicester, Jo Grady, University of
Sheffield, Felicity Callard, Birkbeck, University of London, and
Stan Papoulias, King’s College London
In April 2018, UCU members voted yes in the USS (Universities
Superannuation Scheme) ballot. Voting yes affirmed that DC (Defined
Contribution) was off the table, and ended a strike which was badly
affecting our students.
Voting yes also delivered the promise of a Joint Expert Panel
(JEP). The UUK (Universities UK)–UCU JEP promised an independent
review of the current valuation of USS — including the
possibility of addressing misleading assumptions about the
deficit.
You gave your mandate to the union General Secretary to end this
dispute, and to safeguard your interests and common good.
But now leaked documents reveal that the JEP is not what we were
promised. It will: • Not be elected by union members. • Not be
accountable to you, the membership. • Not be transparent, as the
panel will be subject to a confidentiality clause.
Worse still, hopes raised by General Secretary Sally Hunt that
the JEP could challenge the valuation used to justify cuts to our
pensions have been dashed. Additional leaked comments by Bill
Galvin, Group Chief Executive Officer of USS, have reinforced USS’s
claim that the scheme valuation we have been contesting throughout
this dispute is legitimate and not negotiable.
Is this what you voted yes for?
No! To get what we were promised, we propose: • Elections to the
JEP. UCU members can self-nominate to serve on the JEP. UCU has
ruled
that it will produce a shortlist. UCU will then appoint from
that list. We believe, instead, that members must make the final
decision by an electronic ballot. Doing so will promote
democracy.
• Accountability of the JEP. How can appointees be accountable?
UCU members cannot be excluded from the decision making process.
UCU members of JEP must regularly report back to the
membership.
• Transparency. Confidentiality clauses that deny
representatives the ability to consult with you, the membership,
prevent us from having influence over the negotiations. Members
must have access to JEP documentation and reports of discussions to
ensure transparency.
Sally Hunt and Alistair Jarvis (Chief Executive of Universities
UK) pledged that the JEP would not only build trust, but deliver
confidence, accountability and transparency. We voted yes, and
ended the strike, accordingly. The current formulation and remit of
JEP will not deliver this pledge. We must demand a JEP that
will.
Number 22: #USSbriefs22 Page ! of !1 1
This paper represents the views of the authors only. The authors
believe all information to be reliable and accurate; if any errors
are found please contact us so that we can correct them. We welcome
discussion of the points raised and suggest that discussants use
Twitter with the hashtag #USSbriefs22; the authors will try to
respond as appropriate. This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
License.
https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/business/people/academic/chris-grocotthttps://www.sheffield.ac.uk/management/staff/jgrady/indexhttp://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychosocial/our-staff/academic/felicity-callardhttp://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychosocial/our-staff/academic/felicity-callardhttps://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/stan-papoulias(ed55375e-8b4c-4544-ac77-d758a44c86ea).htmlhttp://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/news/Pages/Joint-Expert-Panel-Proposed.aspxhttp://academicfreedom.watch/node/7https://uukspin.tumblr.com/post/173187763903/uss-bill-galvin-email-dated-18-april-2018https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/9434/Questions-answered-on-the-UUK-proposal-consultationhttps://www.ucu.org.uk/article/9429/UUK-proposal-and-letter-of-clarificationhttps://twitter.com/hashtag/USSbriefs22?src=hashhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/https://twitter.com/hashtag/USSbriefs22?src=hashhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/