USS consultation starts today 16 March

At the Branch Meeting last Wednesday Geraldine Egan UCU National Pension Official spoke to members about the USS consultation and changes. Read her presentation. The statutory consultation with active members of USS is due to start on 16 March.

University management are distributing paperwork packs from USS to members of the scheme. The material will include links for members to provide individual responses on a dedicated USS website.

It is highly recommended that members read Geraldine’s slides and check our local USS webpage which will be regularly updated – collating the information, with links to further reading. The consultation period ends on 22 May.

Other updates provided by Branch Officers at the meeting included:

Reward and Recognition (below).
Members are asked to consider becoming a SUCU delegate to Sheffield Trades Council. There are some spare delegate spaces yet to be filled. Please respond to this email if you would like to learn more.

Reward & Recognition: Good Progress

We have told you about our local ‘Reward and Recognition’ negotiations in previous Branch News emails. We are glad to confirm that the deadlock with management over normal incremental progression has been broken and we hope to have an agreement within a few weeks which we we will be able to recommend to you.

You will of course have the final say, in an eballot, on whether to accept the eventual set of proposed changes.

Stand up to Racism national demo 21 March

Many organisations will be coming together on Saturday 21 March 2015 to reject racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism; to celebrate diversity and make migrants welcome, to demonstrate confidence in a future free of scapegoating, racism and hatred, and to remember Nelson Mandela and cherish the idea for a free and democratic society in which all persons live together in harmony and equal opportunities. More information…