Skip to main content
Scottish trade unionists warn of upstairs downstairs culture in Scots universities

TRADE UNIONISTS have warned of an “upstairs, downstairs” culture in Scottish universities, as they slammed the imposition of a pay contract on education staff.

Unison has criticised the behaviour of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), the UK-wide organisation that has imposed a pay offer of 1.8 per cent on Scottish university workers.

Since the current rate of inflation stands at 2.1 per cent, workers are angry that the contract represents a real-terms pay cut.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
FIGHTING FOR EDUCATION: Teachers from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union on the picket line in Glasgow, February 22 2023
TUC Congress 2025 / 6 September 2025
6 September 2025

With 12,000 fewer teachers since 2010 and dwindling resources, Scotland’s schools desperately need investment to support diverse learners rather than empty promises from politicians, writes ANDREA BRADLEY

Junior doctors on the picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital, London, during their continuing dispute over pay. Picture date: Thursday June 27, 2024
Workers' Rights / 18 July 2025
18 July 2025

It is only trade union power at work that will materially improve the lot of working people as a class but without sector-wide collective bargaining and a right to take sympathetic strike action, we are hamstrung in the fight to tilt back the balance of power, argues ADRIAN WEIR

Lecturers and other university staff take part in a rally on Buchanan Street, Glasgow, September 19, 2023
Scotland / 30 June 2025
30 June 2025
School support staff members of Unison during a rally outside the Scottish parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh, September 27, 2023
Features / 20 June 2025
20 June 2025

Almost half of universities face deficits, merger mania is taking hold, and massive fee hikes that will lock out working-class students are on the horizon, write RUBEN BRETT, PAUL WHITEHOUSE and DAN GRACE