Scottish universities are facing fresh strike threats in a dispute over pay.
Bosses at the Unite union have confirmed around 2,000 members at eleven institutions are being balloted for possible walkouts.
The staff involved cover Aberdeen, Abertay, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Heriot-Watt, Napier, St Andrews and Strathclyde universities, as well as the Glasgow School of Art. It is the first time Unite has balloted simultaneously across such a large number of Scottish campuses.
The vote opens from today and closes on October 21. Cleaners, janitors, estate workers and technicians are among those set to participate.
Unite’s Scottish members are part of a UK-wide pay dispute with the University and College Employers Association (UCEA). The latest developments come after the union rejected an offer that it says is worth as little as 3.1 per cent for some, despite all university staff having worked onsite throughout the Covid pandemic.
READ MORE: Scottish universities near ‘critical’ state as alarm grows over international fees
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “The pay offer on the table from the UCEA is completely unacceptable at a time when inflation is 12.3 per cent.
“The pay inequalities across Scottish universities are outrageous in a sector which is totally dependent on public money. No university principal is facing a cost of living crisis but our members certainly are and this offer, which represents a massive pay cut, can only make that worse.
“They will have our full support in this fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”
READ MORE: University of Glasgow students warned to not enrol amid lack of housing
Alison MacLean, Unite industrial officer, added: “The UCEA has refused to reopen pay negotiations despite Unite and all trade unions arguing that they must come back to the table.
“A number of Scottish universities are also recognising that the offer is so poor they are encouraging a new one to be made to the workforce. It’s the first time ever that Unite is simultaneously balloting for strike action across so many Scottish universities but that’s a testament to the anger our members feel right now.”
Unite members at the University of Dundee are also on strike action in a separate dispute concerning pension cuts.
Raj Jethwa, UCEA’s chief executive, stressed that his organisation had represented 145 institutions from across the UK at the 2022/23 new Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES) bargaining table. He added: "They have done their best to support jobs and staff in very difficult circumstances and against a backdrop of significant cost increases, with most experiencing falling income in real terms.
"UCEA is concerned for those on lower incomes, who are disproportionately impacted by inflation. That is why the 2022/23 new JNCHES pay award included an uplift of up to 9 per cent for those on the lowest points of the pay spine, and why UCEA worked with employers to implement the uplift at the earliest opportunity.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here