Staff at virtually a dozen Scottish universities will take 5 days of strike motion this week as a part of an ongoing rowover pensions and pay and situations.
It's the third spherical of walk-outs from College and Faculty Union (UCU) members this educational yr after fury over pension cuts.
This week's motion follows 10 days of walkouts between February 14 and March 2 and a three-day strike in December.
The union mentioned Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension cuts "pressured by" by college employers will see 35% slashed from a typical member's assured retirement earnings, and it's demanding employers revoke the cuts and re-enter negotiations.
Within the pay and dealing situations dispute, the union is asking for a £2,500 pay rise for all college workers because it estimates wages have fallen by greater than 1 / 4 (25.5%) in actual phrases since 2009.
UCU common secretary Jo Grady mentioned: "Vice-chancellors and principals throughout the UK have the ability to finish these disputes. The cash is there to pay workers correctly, sort out punishing working situations and reverse pension cuts that can devastate retirement incomes.
"As an alternative, college bosses are selecting to sit down on reserves price tens of billions of kilos and make their very own workers undergo. That is why we're out on picket strains but once more.
"By persevering with to disregard the longstanding and severe issues of workers, principals usually are not solely pushing their very own workforce to breaking level, but in addition doing severe hurt to the way forward for increased training and stopping it from being the perfect it may be."
Within the pay and dealing situations dispute, the union can be demanding an finish to race, gender and incapacity pay injustice, a framework to remove zero-hours and different insecure contracts, and significant motion to sort out unmanageable workloads.
These strolling out on Monday are members on the universities of Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde and Edinburgh Napier College, Glasgow College of Artwork, Heriot-Watt College, the Open College and Queen Margaret College.
Members on the Open College are additionally taking two additional days of strike motion as a result of the educating mannequin is completely different to a normal college week, with the majority of tutorials happening through the weekend.
UCU members there can even be on strike on Saturday March 26 and Sunday March 27.
Members at some establishments are taking motion solely on the pensions concern, some solely over the pay and dealing situations dispute, and a few on each.
A USS spokesman mentioned: "We perceive the issues of USS members, however the basic reality is that the worth of promising a set, inflation-protected earnings for all times in retirement - paid it doesn't matter what occurs to the financial system or the upper training sector in future - is way more costly at present than prior to now.
"The choices made by the joint negotiating committee reply to the challenges offered by long-term financial and demographic developments by slowing the tempo at which USS pension guarantees construct up in future.
"USS stays one of many comparatively few personal DB (outlined profit) pension schemes within the nation nonetheless open to new members and nonetheless providing worthwhile 'assured' advantages to its members."
A Universities UK spokesperson, on behalf of USS Employers, mentioned: "Taking college workers out on strike once more won't take away the necessity to reform USS to make sure it stays reasonably priced for members and employers.
"The package deal of reforms proposed by employers has now handed the joint negotiating committee and the USS Trustee Board, and can be applied from 1st April 2022.
"February's industrial motion didn't obtain the result UCU supposed, and knowledge gathered by Universities and Faculties Employers Affiliation (UCEA) suggests turnout on picket strains was even decrease than earlier than, with restricted disruption to college students.
"With information of extra strikes and yet one more poll, cheap onlookers will conclude the union has an ideological fixation with strike motion and is set to pursue it, irrespective of the fee. Since 2019, a median member of workers incomes £55,000 each year taking strike motion has forgone over £4,800 in pay deductions, to no avail.
"Scheme members ought to ask themselves whether or not they're keen to sacrifice much more to pay increased pensions contributions based mostly on UCU's unsubstantiated view that one other valuation will yield a greater end result.
"Employers have repeatedly made clear that present contributions are on the very restrict of affordability, and a majority of these responding to a session on UCU's proposal for increased contributions rejected it.
"Current authorities bulletins underline the broader monetary uncertainty universities are dealing with, and with the 2020 valuation now concluded, it's time to look ahead and establish lasting enhancements to USS that may be made forward of the following valuation."
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