North London scraps 'no-strike' contract

The University of North London has withdrawn proposed new contracts for academic staff, which would have banned strikes and taken it out of a national agreement with unions on pay and conditions. After lengthy talks with staff, it has agreed to keep all key features of the national contract, which will mean dropping proposals to cut holidays and sick pay and scrapping no-strike clauses. But staff have had to agree to an extended appraisal scheme and new voluntary performance-related pay.