Universities staff walk out in three-day strike over pay and pensions

THOUSANDS of staff at ten Scottish universities started a three-day strike over pay yesterday.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland voted to strike until Friday in a dispute about falling pay, pension cuts and ‘worsening working conditions’.

The 6,000 staff, on picket lines outside main university entrances, joined 50,000 colleagues at 58 universities across the UK taking similar action. Last month, UCU members at the ten Scottish institutions backed a strike in two separate ballots, one about pension cuts and one about pay.

UCU claims employers have misled staff over the size of pension cuts and rejected the union’s demands to address falling pay and worsening working conditions. Staff at seven universities – HeriotWatt, Dundee, Stirling, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and the Open University in Scotland – will strike over both pay and pensions.

Staff at Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow School of Art and Queen Margaret University will take action on pay only.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘It is deeply regrettable that staff have been forced into taking industrial action again, but sadly university bosses have shown little interest in negotiating in good faith and addressing the serious concerns of staff over falling pay, massive pension cuts, equality pay gaps and the rampant use of insecure contracts.

‘The truth is that staff are asking for the bare minimum. But sadly, the only time vice-chancellors and principals seem to listen is when staff take action, and those leading our universities should not underestimate their determination to change this sector for the better.’

This week, UCU said Universities UK had misled staff and vice-chancellors about the scale of the cuts it was pushing through.

According to the union, Universities UK had repeatedly said its cuts to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) would lead to staff pensions being cut by 10 per cent to 18 per cent. However, the USS trustees’ own modelling shows that a typical member will see a 36 per cent cut.

The union said staff pay has fallen by 20 per cent after 12 years of below-inflation pay offers, while almost 90,000 academic and academic-related staff are on insecure contracts.

The National Union of Students was yesterday accused of ‘bullying’ youngsters by urging them not to ‘cross the picket’.

Some militant student activists also stood at entrances with banners branding dissenters ‘scabs’ in ‘solidarity’ with the strikers.

Another group of students blocked off the headquarters in London of Universities UK, which represents vice chancellors.

The so-called Red Square Movement let off flares at the entrance, held posters bearing obscenities and claimed on Twitter they were ‘letting uni bosses know that we’re coming for them’.

In Bristol, hundreds of staff and students marched through the town to College Green, while at other campuses strikers sang songs on the picket lines.

Last night, the mayhem prompted Universities Minister Michelle Donelan to intervene, calling on universities to ‘minimise disruption’ to students.

She added: ‘Students should be proud of the resilience they’ve shown throughout the pandemic.

‘Further disruption from industrial action is the last thing students want or deserve – which is why today’s industrial action is so disappointing.’

‘Rampant use of insecure contracts’