Staff at 11 Scots universities set to strike over pay and pensions dispute

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Staff at three more Scottish universities will strike from Monday as part of a dispute over pay and pensions, taking the total number of institutions affected to 11.

University and College Union (UCU) members will walk out on Monday and Tuesday after the union refused a 1.5 per cent pay rise offer amid claims there would be a 35 per cent cut to their guaranteed pension income.

The full list of universities where staff will strike are Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Glasgow School of Art, Heriot Watt, Napier, Queen Margaret, St Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde universities and the Open University in Scotland.

Staff at all but Strathclyde university are also set to strike on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.Approximately 6,000 staff from eight universities are believed to have joined picket lines last week as part of the ongoing industrial action.The union is asking for a £2.5k pay rise for all university employees as it estimates that staff pay has fallen by more than a quarter (25.5%) in real terms since 2009.The National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland has also organised a rally in support of striking staff from 1pm on Tuesday outside the Scottish Parliament to demand that staff are offered fair pay, pensions and working conditions, and for an end to student poverty.UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "While the university sector continues to bring in tens of billions of pounds each year, the staff who make it work have been forced to endure over a decade of real term pay cuts and the indignity of trying to make ends meet on exploitative and insecure contracts."Vice chancellors and principals on eye-watering salaries have serious questions to answer as to why they have allowed staff pay to fall by over 25%