The University & College Union (UCU) has called on its members at universities across the UK to go on strike from Monday 25-Friday 29 November and from Monday 2-Wednesday 4 December.

The dispute is over pay and pensions. The UCU is dissatisfied with the 2019 pay settlement and opposed to a recent 0.8% increase in the contributions staff make towards their pensions.

Pay and pensions are negotiated nationally so there is nothing the University or the Glasgow UCU branch can do to resolve the dispute locally.

Dr David Duncan, Chief Operating Officer and the President of the SRC Scott Kirby offer their views on the action 

The University’s position is that:

  • Talks should resume at national level to agree a pay uplift in 2020 which is acceptable to all parties
  • The 0.8% increase in employee contributions is reasonable, given that employers’ contributions increased at the same time by 1.6%.

While we respect the union’s right to take industrial action, we have asked all members of staff to think carefully before taking part in a strike that could be disruptive to students. If members of staff do go on strike, we will deduct one day’s pay for each day missed.

During the strike period, the UCU may engage in peaceful pickets at one or more entrances to the campuses. The UCU will not attempt to prevent people from entering or leaving the campuses.

Most members of staff are not members of the union and will be working as normal. We expect that most classes will continue during the strike. Students are encouraged to attend classes as normal unless specifically instructed not to do so by their School.

All buildings and facilities on campus will remain open throughout the strike.

The interests of students are our top priority and we will do everything we can to ensure that the disruption to students is minimised. We expect that all academic programmes will be completed on time and that all students will graduate as per the schedule. No student will be assessed on material that has not been covered as part of their studies.

The UCU has also called for a ‘work to contract’ (“Action Short of a Strike”) which will also begin on 25 November and continue after 4 December. We do not expect this will have any meaningful impact on students.

More information is available here: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/mgrs-admin/employee/indaction/

and here:
https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/mgrs-admin/employee/indaction/faqs/.

A FAQs webpage for students is currently under development, and the UofG Helpdesk Knowledge Base will also include the relevant information.

Reach Out is accessible here:
https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/students/reachout/

A new dedicated email has been set up for staff and students to ask questions about the industrial action: industrial-action-questions@glasgow.ac.uk.

Finally, the Senate Office is sharing more detailed advice on academic matters with Colleges and Schools.

First published: 18 November 2019

<< 25 November, 2019