Message from Denise Everitt, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer:

Yesterday’s failure to find support for the settlement suggested by UCU and UUK following talks at ACAS is obviously disappointing to everybody concerned.  We are aware that many staff, as well as the University itself, had high hopes that these discussions would allow us all to move forward with a better pension outcome for staff and certainty for our students.

In response to this setback, we will continue to urge all those involved at national level to return to the table to continue discussions with a view to resolving the current industrial dispute as quickly as possible, as well as lobbying for an outcome that protects the interests of our staff and students. Alongside this, our priority is to support schools in seeking to mitigate the impact of the action on students as much as we can.

We continue to be engaged in talks with Kent Union and the local branch of the UCU and will use a joint voice wherever we can to press for positive change. In the meantime, we remain committed to the sentiments underpinning our joint statement of 9 March in which we called for a solution that reflected Kent’s core values of fairness, equality, collaboration and respect. It is these values that will continue to make a career in Higher Education an attractive choice for both current staff and those just beginning their working lives.

We will continue to keep you informed with any developments relating to this situation.