Thread by @felicitycallard

So Universities UK released a statement responding to the #USS announcements yesterday about contribution increases.

Notice the adjective "challenging" & the phrase "difficult decisions ... over financial priorities" universitiesuk.ac.uk/news/Pages/Pro… #USSstrike 1/

We should recall that the leaked UUK briefing paper to employers laid out their 'initial views' vis-à-vis the institutional consequences that they believe would follow from increased contributions academicfreedom.watch/sites/default/… 2/

The UUK briefing paper academicfreedom.watch/sites/default/… included potential impacts that would bear on staff (headcount, reward, recruitment) and on capital expenditure (capital investment, ongoing business projects) 3/

It's going to be a fraught autumn. Expect a discourse in which pay is pitted against pensions ("we can't increase pay because we're paying more for your pensions") and increased threats & roll-outs of redundancy to be installed as the consequence of #USS contribution increases 4/

Remember the dominant discourse at the start of #USSstrike e.g. sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read… 5/

That's why it's important not to be plunged into a narrative of crisis. Read our short @OpenUPP2018 thread that lays out the reality of timings around the contribution increases

https://twitter.com/OpenUPP2018/status/1022078167840903170

6/

And remember UUK included a "potential slowing down of existing business projects" a potential consequence they identified.

I'm just wondering whether there will be shift from current aesthetics of celebrating the power & rapidity of current university building projects 7/7