University lecturers in Dumfries will be on strike again today in a dispute with management over pay and pensions.
Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are at loggerheads with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) in a two tiered dispute.
Staff at the University of Glasgow campus at the Crichton went on strike yesterday and will be back on a picket line today.
David Clelland, local branch representative for the UCU, said: “Our pay levels have been falling behind inflation for many years now and with the cost of living crisis it’s getting even worse.
“We’ve been offered three per cent this year which is nowhere near the levels of inflation. There are also issues around casualisation and workload in the sector.
“Last year there were huge, unnecessary cuts made to our pensions schemes and now our members can expect their income in retirement to be 30 to 35 per cent lower than they were expecting.
Raj Jethwa, UCEA’s chief executive said: “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 pursuit of an unrealistic 13.6 per cent pay demand which would cost institutions in the region of £1.5 billion.”
