A THIRD wave of strikes is set to get underway at two city universities this week in a row over pay, pensions and conditions. 

UCU members at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities will walk out again from today until Friday in five days of consecutive strike action. 

Workers recently took 10 days of action from Monday February 14 until Wednesday March 2.

Glasgow Times:

Why are they going on strike?

Lecturers and support staff have been taking part in industrial action over claims that pay and conditions within the sector are deteriorating and cuts to pensions.

The union says that employers have "forced through" a 35% cut in guaranteed retirement income.

They also claim they have had a 25.5% real terms since 2009. 

Glasgow Times:

UCU also say that more than 70,000 academics and support staff are employed on insecure contracts. 

Jo Grady, general secretary of the UCU, said: "Vice-chancellors and principals across the UK have the power to end these disputes. The money is there to pay staff properly, tackle punishing working conditions and reverse pension cuts that will devastate retirement incomes."

What do they want?

UCU is calling for an immediate £2.5k pay rise for all employees at the universities affected.

They also want zero-hour contracts eliminated and a reversal of all pension cuts. 

Glasgow Times:

It has been argued that universities across the country can afford to meet the demands of staff. Figures obtained by the UCU show that the sector's total income is around £41.9 billion annually with reserves of around £46.8 bn.

How will this affect students?

The strikes are expected to have some disruption of study for students, but Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities have both previously told the Glasgow Times that a large majority were working normally.

Some members of the union are taking what is known as "action short of strike" where they may not be completing work over and above their contracted hours. UCU lecturers could also vote for a marking boycott in future if the dispute is not solved.

What have the universities said?

A spokesperson from Glasgow University previously told the Glasgow Times that they "regret" the UCU were proceeding with industrial action and they are doing everything they can to minimise disruption.

They also said they are continuing to engage with campus trade unions across the university. Strathclyde previously said that they were making arrangements to minimise any disruption to students and were fully expecting classes to run as normal.