A union representing support staff at Abertay University has claimed up to 50 workers are facing “drastic and unnecessary” wage cuts.
Unite’s regional officer Richard Whyte said some of its members would see their pay fall by 12.5%.
“That’s a huge cut in people’s income. Some of our members have 40 years’ loyal service at Abertay.
“It is simply unthinkable and disgraceful that this is being considered,” he said.
The dispute centres on an agreement on pay that came into effect eight years ago.
Management argued this was designed to ensure that everyone was paid fairly for their job, according to a new single pay scale that was agreed with the unions at the time.
As a result, some staff were found to be on higher salaries than they ought to be, while others were found to be on lower salaries. The latter had their salaries adjusted at the time.
Unite’s position is that it has proposed the opening up of pay zones or phasing out the salary discrepancies through normal turnover and retirements, but it has been unable to reach a deal with management.
An Abertay spokesman said no-one was facing an immediate cut in wages.
He went on: “Since changing our pay structure in 2006, some staff have had their salary protected at a higher level than colleagues doing the same job.
“Despite nine months of negotiation with Unite, we have been unable to reach agreement on a solution, so the university is now consulting each staff member concerned on an individual basis.
“These staff will continue to receive their current salaries until January 2016 but with no annual increases to allow time for adjustment and, where appropriate, a career development plan.
“We estimate that no more than 30 to 35 staff will be facing actual salary reductions in January 2016, by which time the reduction will be relatively low.”