Thousands of workers at three Scottish universities, Glasgow, Napier, and Strathclyde, set to strike

Thousands of workers at three Scottish universities are set to strike in an ongoing pay dispute.

Unite said about 1,000 members will walk out across at Glasgow, Strathclyde and Edinburgh Napier universities on Friday after a 1.4% pay offer was imposed.

The union is now seeking a pay rise of at least RPI plus 3% to avoid what they call a “massive real terms pay cut”, and a minimum hourly rate of pay of £15.

Strike action is set to involve non-academic staff, such as those working in estates, security, libraries, and administration.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “University workers deserve far better than a real-terms pay cut after over a decade of below-inflation pay rises. They are faced with rising energy, household, transport and food costs while their wages are being slashed.

“University employers should be ashamed of treating hard-working staff in this way, which is why our members in Glasgow, Strathclyde and Edinburgh Napier will fight for better jobs, pay and conditions by taking a stand against this appalling treatment.”

Unite lead officer for higher education Alison MacLean added: “Staff working in Scottish higher education have faced years of significant and successive real-terms pay cuts.”

“Last year, university staff had one of the worst-ever pay awards imposed upon them, which is why our members have no option but to fight back. The 2025-26 budget for higher education represented a real-terms cut, failing to match inflation and leaving our institutions exposed. We are currently in pay negotiations for 2026/27, and our members will simply not accept another derisory pay award”.

“Unite’s members are being forced to pay the price for financial mismanagement through low-ball pay offers, attacks on terms and conditions, and increasing threats of compulsory redundancies. We will not accept this, and our members are prepared to fight for a better education sector for all.”

A spokesman for the University of Strathclyde said: “We recognise the importance of job security and are continuing to work with our trade unions while taking steps to minimise disruption to students. Like many universities across the UK, we are facing significant financial pressures.

“This means we need to make savings now through a mix of income generation and controlled salary and non‑salary savings. This ensures long‑term sustainability and a strong platform to deliver our strategy.”

A University of Glasgow spokesperson said: “We regret Unite is taking industrial action, but we anticipate the large majority of staff will continue to work normally. The University is doing everything it can to keep disruption to a minimum.”

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Napier University said: “Edinburgh Napier University has a small number of Unite members and we expect any impact on our students will be minimal.”