Furious educators at a Scots university have blasted bosses after they said free tea and coffee in staff kitchens was due to be cancelled.
Edinburgh University lecturers slammed the institution following a memo which was issued to staff appearing cite budget constraints as the reason for removing the complimentary drinks.
The belt-tightening moves come amidst last years cash surplus of £61million, which university deans were celebrating.
On Monday February 14 staff at the university kicked off ten days of strikes over a dispute regarding “brutal pension cuts”.
However, frustrated academics have claimed ’petty’ notices were displayed on canteen walls demanding staff bring their own refreshments going forward as a result of the ‘unique financial circumstances the university finds itself in’, reports Edinburgh Live
It comes just months after vice-principal Gavin McLachlan described a “larger than expected surplus” following cuts to pension pots as “fantastic news”.
Laminated sheets of A4 posted in kitchens reserved for use by academic staff earlier this week read: “The University Finance Department has confirmed to all schools that additional extras such as tea and coffee will no longer be available ‘due to the unique financial circumstances we find ourselves in’.
“The School will distribute the items already in cupboards between tea points, but once they are finished colleagues will need to purchase their own provisions if required.”
Headline figures from the university’s end of year report boasted of a £1.18billion income in the 2020/21 period, with £113m retained as “operating surplus for reinvestment”.
Almost half of that, £52m, is restricted as capital grant funding from the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.
Presenting the finances last year, Mr McLachlan cited a larger student body and a “covid underspend” among the reasons for increased income over the last 12 months.
However cuts to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension scheme were revealed as the main source of savings.
Dr Andy Aydın-Aitchison, a senior criminology lecturer at the institution’s law school since 2006, said the refreshments note demonstrated a further lack of value in its staff.
He added: “It seems really trivial - taking away the tea bags, or the instant coffee.
“But when you put this petty, penny pinching decision alongside the fact that we have a leadership team who think savings by cuts to staff pensions should be celebrated as ‘fantastic news’, it shows university management, structures and decisions that don’t value the staff who make the university what it is - the academics, including PhD students, researching and teaching, the professional teams keeping things going in schools, libraries, archives and computing services, the servitors, the cleaners and other staff looking after our buildings.”
Around 6,000 staff from eight Scottish universities were expected to join the picket line, with further action planned when three other institutions stand with colleagues from across the country next week.
The University and College Union (UCU) has demanded a £2,500 pay rise for all staff, as well as action “to tackle unmanageable workloads, pay inequality and the use of insecure and exploitative contracts” as well as a ‘withdrawal of cuts’ to the pension scheme.
A spokesperson for the University of Edinburgh said: “The university has not made any unilateral changes to staff kitchens.”
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