Day 11 and a big turnout for the start of the third wave of strike action

We were joined today by Des Loughney of the Edinburgh Trade Union Council (ETUC) and students from HWU Student Union for the start of the third wave of strike action in the USS pension and 4-Fights disputes.

The ETUC has been in existence since 1853 when as the Edinburgh & District Trades Council it campaigned for workers in Edinburgh to get a half day off on Saturdays.

Continuing in this proud tradition a motion to support the UCU disputes was recently passed by the Student Union. HWU students will be joining staff on picket lines to show that they stand in solidarity with the UCU, and signing the NUS open letter to UUK and UCEA executives.

Staff deserve to be paid fairly for their work. They deserve contracts that guarantee them a stable job, and workloads that are manageable. Women, disabled staff and staff of colour deserve pay parity with their counterparts.

Why you should be on strike

Our employer’s have forced through pension cuts which will see reductions of up to 35% in the retirement income guaranteed to a typical member. We want our employers to stop these unecessary cuts and re-enter negotiations. We also want our employers to stop using zero-hours casual contracts and work with us to tackle unmanageable workloads and end race, gender, and disability pay gaps.

Our employers can afford to do all of this but they are choosing instead to squeeze staff and make students suffer.