…UCU has won a dispute at Sheffield Hallam University, where plans to force staff into a phony subsidiary company and out of their pension scheme (TPS) have been halted after weeks of industrial action.

UCU members have secured an agreement that academic staff will remain employed by the university and retain access to their existing Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS). The frustrated plans were part of a scheme to save £27 million by the end of this academic year, after two years of cuts that have seen the departure of 1,000 staff.

Early in June, at the neighbouring University of Sheffield, UCU has taken the drastic action of declaring an academic boycott of the university. This includes speaking or organising academic or other conferences at the university, giving lectures, accepting positions as visiting professors, researchers or external examiners.

All these disputes have much in common. They are all largely defensive, seeking to save jobs and preserve terms and conditions. One might well ask why UCU and other unions do not take a more unified approach. It should be far more proactive and take the fight to the academia’s trade organisation, Universities UK…