TRADE UNIONISTS have warned of an “upstairs, downstairs” culture in Scottish universities, as they slammed the imposition of a pay contract on education staff.

Unison has criticised the behaviour of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), the UK-wide organisation that has imposed a pay offer of 1.8 per cent on Scottish university workers.

Since the current rate of inflation stands at 2.1 per cent, workers are angry that the contract represents a real-terms pay cut.