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.
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
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
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


