Update: The strike is suspended and will not go ahead.

We have reached an agreement with HWU in respect of deductions. It limits them to a maximum of 28 days at 50% for marking and boycotting before 23 June. After this the university will continue to maintain their position of rejecting partial performance, but they will return staff who have declared participation to full pay. Any marking not done is now parked. This will be reviewed at the end of July and again at end of August but the University must give us 3 weeks notice if they intend to resume deducting.

On this basis a quorate branch meeting voted to suspend the action and the HE officers have been informed of our decision.

The local agreement will be circulated to members by email. A public joint statement will be published next week. We remain in the MAB.

Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB)

The MAB is a legally called national action in the ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions. We have tried to make this point to the senior leadership at Heriot-Watt but they are just not interested in trying to maintain good local relations or using their influence to urge UCEA to settle the dispute, as the management teams at some other universities have already done.