UCU industrial action – update

Published: 4 February 2020

The UCU's national HE Committee has called for a further 14 days of strike action over pensions, pay and related issues

We are very disappointed that UCU’s national HE committee has called for a further 14 days of strike action over pensions, pay and related issues.

The proposed strike dates are:

  • Week 1 - Thursday 20 & Friday 21 February
  • Week 2 - Monday 24, Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 February
  • Week 3 - Monday 2, Tuesday 3, Wednesday 4 & Thursday 5 March
  • Week 4 - Monday 9, Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11, Thursday 12 & Friday 13 March

The University of Glasgow has made clear its position regarding the issues under dispute.

On workload, casualisation and equal pay, UCU and the Employers’ Association (UCEA) have developed new proposals which we believe should be put to UCU members for their views.

On pay, nationally there is little scope for movement on the 2019 uplift. However, the 2020 pay negotiations are due to begin shortly and there is an opportunity to address the concerns of staff about salary levels through a multi-year pay deal.

On pensions, positive talks between employers, UCU and the USS Scheme Trustee based on the JEP2 proposals are already underway; we do not believe that further industrial action in relation to pensions is justified at this time.

We would like to see another round of national talks over the coming days with a view to avoiding further disruption to students’ education. However, if strike action does take place, we will once again do our utmost to minimise disruption to students.

At the University of Glasgow, while we recognise that more needs to be done, considerable progress has already been made on the key issues in collaboration with GUCU. More information on our approach to fair and flexible employment arrangements; workload and mental health concerns; and gender and ethnicity pay gaps can be found in the article Update on Pay and Working Conditions.

Any queries may be addressed to the dedicated email:
industrial-action-questions@glasgow.ac.ukk.

Please also refer to:


First published: 4 February 2020