University and College Union (UCU) members have voted to accept a proposed deal from Universities UK (UUK), immediately drawing to a close the long period of industrial action.

53,415 UCU members were balloted, with 33,913 valid votes cast, a turnout of 63.5%. Of the votes cast, 21,683 chose to accept the UUK offer, approximately 64%.

The proposed deal will see the introduction of a “Joint Expert Panel”, who will aim to underpin the future approach to valuing the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) fund. This panel will be comprised of academic and actuarial experts nominated in equal numbers from UCU and UUK

The proposed deal will see the creation of a “Joint Expert Panel”, which will be comprised of actuarial and academic experts nominated in equal numbers from both UCU and UUK.

The Leeds UCU Branch EGM showed its members to not be in support of accepting the deal, but a statement on their Facebook page stated that they “need to keep our solidarity strong and carry on working well together.”

Reece Parker