Staff set to strike at four Scottish universities

Support staff at four Scottish universities are set to strike over pay, a union has announced.

Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Napier and Robert Gordon universities will see Unison members strike over five days.

The action will take place from 19 to 21 September and 3 to 4 October.

The union said about 1,100 staff would take action including cleaners, library workers, IT support staff and security officers. University lecturers are not involved in the dispute.

The strikes come as many students return to university for the start of term.

Lorcan Mullen, Unison Scotland's head of higher and further education, said current conditions "hurt low-paid staff" at a time when the cost of living was increasing.

He said: "The pay inequalities in this largely publicly-funded sector are obscene.

"UCEA (The Universities and Colleges employers association), the Scottish government, individual universities and sector leaders have a moral responsibility to act with urgency and seriousness on the cost-of-living crisis in Scotland's universities."

The UCEA has previously said it had have done its best to support staff in very difficult circumstances.

This includes working with employers to implement a pay uplift for those on the lowest incomes.

Unison have warned that other institutions may join the strike action later in the autumn.

Hundreds of Unison members at the University of Dundee will also strike for two weeks beginning on Monday 19 September in a separate dispute concerning pension provision.