Unison University of Glasgow

09/12/2025

UNISON UofG ANNOUNCEMENT

Local dispute win and HE pay ballot threshold smashed!

After UNISON launched the failure to agree process at university of Glasgow, members have won improvements to pay and conditions that will benefit all staff in some way, regardless of job family or grade.

-Revised grades 1-5*
-Paid Paternity leave increased from 2 to 4 weeks
-Paid Carer’s Leave increased
to 7 days
-Annual Leave carry over increased to end of April
- 2 extra days of leave for all
staff Xmas 2025

*with a further review of G5+ by
September 2026

UNISON members at uofg have also voted in favour of taking industrial action on the derisory national pay offer, with a turnout of 55%

Our members have had enough and are taking a stand on the erosion of their pay and conditions.

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28/03/2025

We have written to the court secretary of University of Glasgow, David Duncan, calling for an emergency meeting and immediate action to be taken to ensure students' welfare is supported.

Divest NOW.

START

We are writing this statement on behalf of UNISON members at the University of Glasgow. Our branch reaffirmed our position after a motion was passed on divestment from the arms industry at our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday the 26th March.

The branch and its membership believe that the university should take immediate action to end its links with the arms trade, including investment, recruitment, education, and research.

Our branch also supports the students taking part in peaceful protest. Where this has been painted as a minority of students by Senior Management Group (SMG), it is clear from the GGlasgow University Students' Representative Council (GUSRC)poll results published yesterday that students overwhelmingly support divestment, with a huge majority of 89.3%, encompassing 8,668 votes. This is the highest turnout the SRC has had for any campaign in its history.

In a previous consultation with staff and students on the Socially Responsible Investment Policy last year, over 80% of staff and students who responded said they were in favour of divestment. Even if UofG UNISON members did not feel as strongly about this as we do, our branch membership would recognise the democratic will of the wider university community who have collectively made clear their position and would expect SMG to respect that result.

The UN and Amnesty International believes that genocide is being committed in Gaza, as does Human Rights Watch, and it is being committed with weapons purchased from the UK and invested in by this university. Our members believe that to continue to invest is to be complicit. It is unconscionable that the University of Glasgow has continued to invest in the arms trade, after the killing of Dima Alhaj, a former student of the University who along with her 6-month-old son and nearly 40 members of her family was killed in Gaza by an indiscriminate airstrike in November 2023.

Even if genocide was not being committed against the people of Palestine, our branch believes that it is not the role of a university, a registered charity, to prop up the arms industry. This industry is already receiving extensive investment from government, which is increasing, and other organisations which profit from armed conflict.

The decision to divest sits with the University Court. We support the call for an emergency meeting of Court to urgently address this. To deny this is an entirely undemocratic and dangerous precedent to set and goes against the values that the university says it stands for.

A number of students are currently over one week into a hunger strike and have been ignored and dismissed. It is disgraceful and shameful that students should feel the need to take such extreme action at the expense of their health, and for the university to be indifferent.

Our branch officers and members have spoken with some of the students, and we were also incredibly concerned to hear that members of SMG are alleged to have used bullying tactics and provocative terms and language to describe their protest. Far from helping to deescalate and calm the situation on campus, this has escalated the situation in a completely irresponsible way and has damaged relations between staff and students on campus. As a branch we also believe that the involvement of the police was entirely unnecessary and, like University of Glasgow UCU, feel that immediate engagement with the students whose health and wellbeing are in danger is a much more appropriate approach.

UNISON will always support the democratic right to peaceful protest and rejects any attempts to stifle this by any institution.

UNISON condemns the appalling rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia seen in recent months. We were one of the first UK unions to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and continues to do so. We have also repeatedly called for full access to humanitarian assistance, the immediate and safe release of hostages, and an end to the blockade of Gaza.

We would hope that members of Court would examine their conscience and respect the wishes of the community it serves when voting on this issue, recognising that the direction of the University should not be determined by the whims of individual members of SMG.

END

UUNISON in Higher EducationGGlasgow TimesTThe HeraldTThe National Newspaper

30/11/2023

🚨CALLING ALL UNISON UOFG MEMBERS🚨

The re-ballot is officially open! You know the drill - when that ballot arrives, post it back asap!

We know you'll be heading to the post office in the run-up to Xmas - no excuses! 👀

21/11/2023

To mark the United Nations International Day to End Violence Against Women and Girls join UNISON's webinar on 22 Nov, 12:30pm. Register Now https://buff.ly/3R4Azy7

Speakers:
Verónica Montúfar – Public Services International (PSI) Ecuador, Equalities Officer.

Nayeli Fernández, The National Social Security Workers Union, Mexico (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Seguridad Social de México).

Veronica Black, Lead professional officer, New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association of Australia.

Learn about combating workplace and domestic violence

21/11/2023

It takes a whole team to keep our NHS running. Today's One Team Day and we're celebrating the vital work of non-clinical support staff like 🛏️porters 🧹cleaners 🍽️catering 🧺laundry 🔐security 🛠️ maintenance ⌨️admin & clerical... and so many more!

10/10/2023

🚨MEMBERS ALERT🚨

Important strike pay information has been emailed to all members.

Check it out here: gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/unis…

You need: a full copy of your Oct 2023 payslip (showing wage deductions) and your completed strike pay form.

Email both to us at [email protected] by 10/11/2023.

07/11/2022

We can announce this morning after a comprehensive ballot that Unison University of Glasgow members at the University of Glasgow have voted to accept a landmark pay deal that will see overall pay rises between 6% & 12.9% this pay year.

This is a clear victory for our members who took strike action.

Like our colleagues in HEI's across the country, UofG unison took industrial action against the imposed, disputed offer from the UCEA that ranged from 3% to 7.2%.

The supplementary offer secured at Glasgow represents a significant improvement on this national position, with the lowest paid now set to receive a permanent £2,332 annual pay rise.

We thank the representatives and organisers from our sister campus unions, as this breakthrough was hard-won and negotiated by unions working together.

When we are united, we can never be defeated.

From all of us on the branch executive committee, we applaud our members for their courageous strike action in fighting for this breakthrough pay deal.

It is and continues to be an honour to work with you and support you in the continuing fight for pay justice for our members.



UNISON Scotland UNISON

04/11/2022

📢📢Calling all Unison University of Glasgow members!📢📢

An important update on the local pay offer ballot has been sent to you all via your registered email.

If you haven't voted, get on it quick!

13/10/2022

The University of Glasgow is very excited about going up in the Times Higher Education Uni rankings but still is holding out from any real improvements in pay and conditions in a cost of living crisis.

Words don't pay bills, mortgages and rent.

Come on University of Glasgow, your staff are on their knees here.

Less rankings chat, more pay rises.

05/10/2022

UNISON Welfare’s Energy Support Fund is now open to help members with rising fuel costs.

Please be advised that phase 1 will be closed once the first 2000 applications have been received. The Energy Support
Fund will be a one-off payment of £200 and is non-repayable.

To apply online, check here on the UK website that you meet all the criteria. If you do, complete the application form which is on the same link.

If you do not meet those criteria, please do not apply. We will be launching the second phase of this in November; which will target members on low incomes and in receipt of means-tested benefits.

UNISON Welfare’s Energy Support Fund is now open to help members with rising fuel costs. Please be advised that phase

04/10/2022

Thank you to Glasgow University Sports Association - GUSA for supporting our strike.

This is a position we have been pushed into by the University and Colleges Employers Association which offered only a 3% pay increase which was imposed by the University of Glasgow in August.

Our members are struggling already with the increased cost of living, 3% is an insult when inflation is spiralling to double digits.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=780661799943423&id=100039988310201

As you may be aware, University of Glasgow staff, who are part of Unison, have recently taken part in a national ballot for industrial action, over fair pay and working conditions. This includes the UofG Sport staff who run the Stevenson Gym and Garscube Sports Complex. Last week Unison held their first strike on the 20th and 21st September 2022. Unison have now confirmed that there will be an additional 2 days of strike action in October: Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th.

Why are staff taking industrial action?

At GUSA we believe that it is important for students to understand the reasoning for the industrial action which is due to take place, and we deeply encourage students to engage with the context and discussion around this. A detailed explanation can be found on the Unison website, but in simple terms, staff are striking over pay increases that in real terms are pay cuts due to rising inflation, and increased workload due to the combination of inadequate resourcing and increasing student numbers year on year.
Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed a decade of wage stagnation for staff whilst the university invests billions into campus infrastructure.

How can a pay rise can be a pay cut in real terms?

Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation is at 11.8% and staff pay is only set to go up by 3%, thus this pay rise is a pay cut of 8.8% as inflation is an indicator of the cost of living. The higher increases on the lower pay points are partly being proposed to keep pay at legal rates. There are different pay points depending on what grade a staff member is.

What have we decided as GUSA Council?

As a council, we have discussed the issue in depth and after hearing from both Unison representatives and the University we have decided to support the Unison Strikes. As the Student Experience goes hand in hand with staff experience and their working conditions.

How can students get involved?

1. Actively engage with the material surrounding the strikes and make sure you’re aware of what’s going on and why.
2. Join the picket on the two days of strikes and show your solidarity with staff.

What will happen during the strike?

During the strike period, the Stevenson Building and Garscube Sports Complex will be closed. Additionally, travelling around main campus may be disrupted due to the picket line being present outside the main gate of the university. For those who may have never been involved with or witnessed a strike, you should avoid crossing the picket line in order to respect those protesting.

Finally, we want to reiterate our understanding that any disruption to sport activity is far from ideal, and not all students will stand in support. Our intention is not to overlook or dismiss the disadvantage this may cause some students, but to reiterate our standpoint that the University should do everything in its power to mitigate the need for staff to strike at present and at any point in the future.

Signed

Glasgow University Sports Association Council 22/23