Staff at universities across Scotland are understood to be having ballots sent to them by union Unite as they are embroiled in a dispute over pay.
This is the first time that Unite have balloted workers across eleven universities in the country. Ballots are being sent to staff at Aberdeen, Abertay, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Both Herriot-Watt and Napier staff members have been contacted regarding the vote on strike action. As has Glasgow Caledonian, Glasgow School of Art, St Andrew’s and Strathclyde.
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The action is part of a wider UK-dispute that will involve cleaners, janitors, estates staff and technicians. They will be asked if they will back industrial action following a pay offer that was described by Unite as “completely unacceptable.”
The current offer on the table from the University and College Employers Association (UCEA) is a 3.1 per cent rise for some staff according to Unite, the Daily Record reports.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, insisted: "The pay offer on the table from the UCEA is completely unacceptable at a time when inflation is 12.3 per cent."
She added: "No university principal is facing a cost of living crisis but our members certainly are, and this offer which represents a massive pay cut can only make that worse."
Ms Graham added that union members would "have our full support in this fight for better jobs, pay and conditions".
Alison MacLean, Unite industrial officer, accused the UCEA of having "refused to reopen pay negotiations despite Unite and all trade unions arguing that they must come back to the table".
She added: "A number of Scottish universities are also recognising that the offer is so poor they are encouraging a new one to be made to the workforce.
"It's the first time ever that Unite is simultaneously balloting for strike action across so many Scottish universities but that's a testament to the anger our members feel right now."
The results of the ballot will be announced by the union after it closes on October 21.
Raj Jethwa, UCEA's chief executive said: "UCEA represented 145 independent HE institutions from across the four nations of the UK at the 2022-23 New JNCHES (Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff) bargaining table.
"They have done their best to support jobs and staff in very difficult circumstances and against a backdrop of significant cost increases, with most experiencing falling income in real terms.
"UCEA is concerned for those on lower incomes, who are disproportionately impacted by inflation. That is why the 2022-23 New JNCHES pay award included an uplift of up to 9% for those on the lowest points of the pay spine, and why UCEA worked with employers to implement the uplift at the earliest opportunity."
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