Staff at University of Glasgow's campus in Dumfries start 10 days of strike action

Staff at the University of Glasgow’s Crichton Campus started 10 days of strike action on Monday in a dispute over pay and pensions.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are demanding better pay and conditions from the employers’ side.

The strike is due to last until Tuesday unless there is movement from the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).

The UCU claims pay for university staff has been cut by 20 per cent in real terms since 2009 and proposed changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) could cut members’ retirement income by 35 per cent.

The union’s regional representative, David Clelland, said: “The University of Glasgow, along with the other employers, is again forcing staff into industrial action to defend their pensions and basic pay and conditions.

“They face a poorer retirement and falling real wages now as the cost of living rises. Although this will cause disruption, students in Dumfries and in Glasgow have shown their support.”

The union is calling for a £2,500 wage increase for members, an end to “pay injustice” and zero-hours contracts as well as action to tackle “unmanageable workloads”.

Raj Jethwa, UCEA’s chief executive, said: “Despite the low levels of disruption, it is disappointing that UCU continues to encourage what is, albeit a small minority of its members, to take strike action once again. There will be regret of any disruption, no matter how insignificant, to students.

“While these early reports are of low levels of industrial action and disruption to teaching it does, of course, take time for these large organisations to find out exactly how many scheduled classes have not taken place on a given day.”

Mr Jethwa added: “In the pay dispute, any industrial action is an unrealistic attempt to force all 146 employers to reopen the concluded 2021-22 national pay round.

“We respect employees’ right to take lawful industrial action, but it is misleading to their members for UCU to ask them to lose pay – in addition to the three days’ pay lost in December – in pursuit of an unrealistic seven per cent pay demand at just over one third of the higher education institutions in the collective pay arrangements.

“Rather than continuing this disruption, UCU should engage constructively in this year’s (2022-23) multi-employer negotiating round which is planned to begin at the end of March.”