Hundreds of university workers took part in demonstrations across Glasgow as part of a long-standing dispute over pay.
Unite and UCU members from Glasgow School of Art, Strathclyde University, and Glasgow University took part in pickets before heading to a rally on Buchanan Street. Cleaners, janitors, estates staff, and technicians are taking part in the coordinated strike action.
The workers rejected an imposed pay deal set by the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) that amounts to three per cent for most staff. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, at 14.2 per cent, the offer is a significant real terms pay cut.
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Former Glasgow University rector Aaemer Anwar shared his support for the demonstrators. Taking to social media, he said: "Solidarity with those striking- often lowest-paid. You are the heart and soul of Glasgow University and like the 1000s striking across the UK, this institution couldn’t operate without you, it’s time you were treated with respect."
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our members are struggling with rocketing living costs and so cannot accept this pay cut disguised supposedly as a pay rise. The universities and the UCEA know they can afford to put forward a better offer than the one that has been imposed and that is what they must do.
"Our members’ jobs, pay and conditions are this union’s top priority, and we will be supporting our higher education members every step of the way.”
Unite national officer for higher education, Andy Murray, added: “The strikes will undoubtedly cause disruption to students, but this dispute is entirely of UCEA’s own making. UCEA must significantly increase the pay deal they imposed on our members in August, start listening to the concerns of our members and act swiftly to address the cost of living crisis.”
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