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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
James Moncur

Strike action continues at Dundee University as part of national pay and pensions' protest

Dundee University staff are continuing their strike action as part of a national protest over pay and pensions.

They have joined workers at 10 other universities and colleges across Scotland.

The University and College Union (UCU) members walked out after the union refused a 1.5% pay rise offer amid claims there would be a 35% cut to their guaranteed pension income.

The full list of universities where staff are striking 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% since 2009, further exposing staff to the cost of living crisis.

“It’s high-time this world-leading sector stopped dining off the good will and dedication of its staff and started treating them with dignity.”

Last week a Dundee University spokesman said: “Since this is primarily a national dispute around pensions and pay, it can only be resolved through negotiations at a national level.

"The University is part of a national bargaining forum which determines pay across most of the UK university sector, while the negotiations on the Universities Superannuation Scheme are also continuing to take place at a national level through a Joint Negotiating Committee that includes universities and UCU.

“In the last round of strike action by UCU in December, 66 staff members confirmed they took part in the strike (staff are legally obliged to inform the employer if they have taken strike action).

“We will do all we can to mitigate any impact on students, who do not deserve to have their studies affected by industrial action.”

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