The national industrial action by members of the University & College Union (UCU) affecting 150 universities has been paused for the next two weeks.

This means that strike action will not take place at the University of Nottingham on the previously confirmed dates of 21-23 and 27-28 February and 1-2 March.

In joint statements issued on Friday 17 February following ACAS-facilitated discussions, employer and union representatives announced they have agreed to proceed to time-limited negotiations aimed at agreeing a revised pay spine to address the pay compression that has developed over recent years, as well as contract types, workload, and pay gaps.

In parallel, the latest quarterly monitoring figures of the USS pension scheme continue to show an improvement in the scheme’s financial position since the last valuation.

In a further joint statement issued on Friday, Universities UK and UCU said this would allow for a return to a comparable level of future benefits as existed before the April 2022 changes, as well as achieve a reduction in costs for members and employers.

Industrial action proposed for the next two weeks has therefore been called off to provide a “period of calm” to allow for intensive negotiations aiming to secure a final agreement.

You can read the joint employer and union statements issued on the evening of Friday 17 February at:

Joint Statement – UCEA, UCU, Unison, Unite, GMB, EIS

Interim Joint Statement – UUK & UCU

Action short of a strike, where staff work to contract and do not undertake voluntary activity, continues and, depending on progress in these current negotiations, the strike dates proposed for later next month may yet take place.

The University will continue to keep staff and students informed with the latest news in this regard.