In linked pdf below, @CambridgeUCU (CUCU) declares that UUK should withdraw its 23 Jan 100% IDC proposal as a condition for their recommending YES on the consultative ballot on the current offer. Tweet thread below on why I think CUCU stance unreasonable. drive.google.com/file/d/11ITpdW…
CUCU writes: "We therefore cannot recommend voting Yes in this ballot until the January 23 JNC proposal has been withdrawn, as a sign of good faith from UUK…" 1/
That ballot closes Friday 13th. So CUCU is calling on UUK to withdraw 23 Jan between now and next Friday, preferably ASAP. 2/
So CUCU is calling on UUK to withdraw 23 Jan whether or not their latest offer is accepted. That's an unreasonable condition unless one thinks it reasonable to demand inept bargaining. 3/
So CUCU should clarify their condition to one that says that UUK should commit to withdrawing 23 Jan IN THE EVENT THAT that their offer is accepted. 4/
But a further problem arises from the fact that it is simply not within UUK's gift to unilaterally withdraw 23 Jan. That could happen only via a JNC decision by a majority of JNC. 5/
But it would be unreasonable to call on UUK to now bind themselves to a tabling of a withdrawal of 23 Jan at the next JNC, if that is not ALSO followed by JNC approval of ANOTHER benefit proposal that is within costings USS finds acceptable. 6/
This is because, if 23 Jan is revoked and not replaced by anything, Rule 76.4 cost-sharing would be triggered. It would be unreasonable to call on UUK to expose themselves to this, by committing to an unconditional tabling of a withdrawal of 23 Jan. 7/
This is why UUK is reasonable in saying nothing stronger than that it “does not intend to return” to the 23 January proposal and that they are “committed to maintaining a meaningful defined benefit pension offer at this valuation”... 8/
...with subsequent clarifications of this commitment in their statements to @JosephineCumbo linked here: 9/
These existing assurances are strong enough to establish that, if the UUK offer is accepted, the upshot will be nothing less than 12 March ACAS. 10/
It’s also unreasonable to demand that UUK make further commitments midway through the ballot, since that will give rise to the legitimate complaint that the offer on which people were balloted changed midway through. 11/
Procedurally, that would be highly problematic. 12/
In addition, both sides should be expected to remain silent during the ballot, except to correct misinterpretations or misunderstandings of existing statements they've made, prior to the launch of the ballot. 13/
For all of the above reasons, I think CUCU’s condition for voting Yes is one that UUK cannot reasonably accept. 14/
The following blog post will provide background for and clarification of many of the points I make in abbreviated twitter form above: 15/15
medium.com/@mikeotsuka/uc…
medium.com/@mikeotsuka/uc…
