UCU@GCU will be picketing across campus on both strike days 25th and 26th May – if you want to take part in the picket, please come to the main gate  from 7.00am. There will be a rally in Adelaides, Bath Street 12noon on Wednesday 25 May 2016 for Glasgow UCU branches. We hope to see lots of colleagues on the picket and at the rally. Speakers at the rally will address gender pay gap and casualization in particular.

We cannot send this message to all staff but would encourage members to forward this message on so that our reasons for taking action are clear to all colleagues.

• No UCU member takes action lightly but since 2009, the cumulative loss to our pay (compared to rises in RPI) is 14.5%.
• Despite it being 50 years since the Equal Pay Act, the continuing gender pay gap in UK higher education is shameful – the total gender pay gap currently stands at a staggering £528 million.
• The latest reported figures from HESA showed that the sector has over £1 billion in operating surpluses – the historic attack on our salaries has reduced the proportion that the sector as a whole spends on staff. According to HESA data, in 2013/14, universities committed only 55.4% of their expenditure to staff, compared with 58.3% in 2004/5.
• Widespread casualisation in the sector impacts on all staff terms and conditions and the rate of pay – according to HESA , there are 75,000 staff on highly casualised ‘atypical’ academic contracts
• National Insurance and pension contributions have both increased as our rate of pay has decreased.

We are asking for  a fair rate for the job– that job that has seen increased workload, more management targets and divisive performance management schemes. It is staff that deliver the excellent research and teaching and we are worth investing in. You can read more about the HE2016 action here: https://www.ucu.org.uk/he2016