Staff at 11 Scottish universities will hold five days of strikes this week in disputes over pay and conditions and pensions. It is the third round of action this academic year.
The University and College Union is asking for a £2,500 pay rise for all university employees. It also said that cuts in pensions “forced through” by employers would see 35 per cent slashed from a typical member’s guaranteed retirement income.
Jo Grady, the union’s general secretary, said: “Vice-chancellors and principals have the power to end these disputes. The money is there to pay staff properly, tackle punishing working conditions and reverse pension cuts.
“Instead, university bosses are choosing to sit on reserves worth tens of billions of pounds and make their own staff suffer. That’s why we are out on picket lines yet again.”
Those walking out on Monday are members at the universities of Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde and Edinburgh Napier University, Glasgow School of Art, Heriot-Watt University, the Open University (OU) and Queen Margaret University. Union members at the OU will also strike at the weekend.
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Members at some institutions are taking action only on pensions, some only over pay and conditions, and some on both.
The Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) said: “The fundamental truth is that the price of promising a set, inflation-protected income for life in retirement is much more expensive today than in the past.”
Universities UK, on behalf of USS employers, said: “Taking university staff out on strike again will not remove the need to reform USS to ensure it remains affordable for members and employers. The package of reforms . . . will be implemented from April 1.”