Thank-you to all those who made it to the pickets today for the final day in this round of strike action. It was another excellent turnout. We will call a members’ meeting soon to discuss options for further action to defend jobs over the summer and into the new session. Please try to attend once a date is fixed and shared. Your negotiators will be meeting with management in the meantime and we remain optimistic that they can find a way forward. The next meeting will be on 8 April and we will feed back.

UCU Joint Rally

After the pickets many of the branch members made their way to Bristo Square for a joint rally with the University of Edinburgh branch of UCU. Students from Heriot-Watt joined speakers from UoE, UCU, Unison, STUC, and spoke passionately about the need to defend higher education as a public good. What is happening at Heriot-Watt is happening elsewhere and our struggle is part of a wider campaign to preserve education.

Gathering data about strike action

Following concerns raised by members about the new method for reporting strike action to a strict deadline (which is not in itself enforceable in law) we have written to the university Data Protection Officer and HR. In tracking the impact of industrial action on teaching we feel that there is potential for lists to be generated by the app creating what could be deemed to be a blacklist. You can read the letter and we will share any updates as we have them.

Action Short of Strike

Tomorrow will likely to be a very busy day for those of us who are not on leave but please remember that we are working to contract as Action Short of Strike.  Don’t give management your time for nothing by working more than your contracted working hours.

Another huge thank you to all those who are coming to the pickets and striking from elsewhere. We had another excellent Edinburgh turnout today including a new special guest – Eduphant the Scholiphant.

Wednesday will be the last of the current strike days. We will be hosting an Easter Egg hunt on the pickets and then we will move to Bristo Square for a joint rally with University of Edinburgh UCU from midday on.

Lets have a big turnout for both.

Action Short of Strike (ASOS)

After this block of strike action ends we return to ASOS. Broadly speaking this means not undertaking voluntary activities or working beyond your contracted hours. Detailed information about working to contract can be found in the FAQs for members on taking action short of a strike. The sector runs on unpaid labour so it is critical that members continue to observe ASOS to help keep the pressure up.

Negotiations

Your negotiators will next meet with University management on 8 April and we will keep you up-to-date on any developments. One aspect we will be putting to management is the accuracy of the data they are using to justify the cuts.

Thank you to the members who were striking today, including those who picketed – a student kindly took the main photo and we’re waiting for that to be sent through – keep an eye on our social media. Today we were joined today by SolidariCAT and Frogoodness Sake. Names to be confirmed.

We are back out tomorrow, and on Wednesday. After the pickets on Wednesday we will be joining friends and comrades from the University of Edinburgh for joint rally at midday in Bristo Square.

After the pickets, we will be joining our friends and comrades at University of Edinburgh UCU at midday in Bristo Square for a joint rally. Please come along and show your support for our mighty branch!

About data

Data has been at the centre of so much of this dispute – staff student ratios, student numbers on courses and programmes, Scholar’s income, research capacity and income.

We have seen data used in a variety of ways to make a range of arguments for the Portfolio Review, Rightsizing and the proposals for Scholar.

Data has been used by the university to under-represent the density of UCU members across the eligible staff groups.

Data has been used to present a misleading picture of the staff student ratio in LINCS to justify Rightsizing cuts. You will have seen the university’s latest update on industrial action sent last Thursday where they aim to ‘provide some insights’ regarding LINCS staffing. The university insists on 6 further FTE to be cut in LINCS via VR/CR on the basis that 33.9 FTE academic staff work in LINCS. However, LINCS only has 28.5 FTE academic staff – this is a discrepancy of 5.4 FTE. We will be asking the university to lay open their SSR calculation method as provided insights so far vary greatly and ignore that one size does not fit all and conference interpreting cannot be taught in a lecture hall.

The data about Scholar paints a partial picture. It totally neglects the surplus that Scholar has generated for Heriot-Watt over most of its 25+ years of its existence, its work for other parts of the university, and its role in student recruitment. There was a small (compared to some other areas of operation at the university) loss in 2024-25. Heriot-Watt have been sitting on their hands, turning down income and refusing to allow staff to find ways to make it more sustainable while they play chicken with the Scottish Government and subscribers from Scottish Local Authorities, SCIS schools, and Further Education Colleges over funding going forward.

Data has also been a matter of concern with the new app developed by the university to record strike days. Many of you have been in touch worried about the privacy and use of this sensitive data. Your negotiators have shared these concerns with the human resources team. On 20 March we asked to see the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) consistent with the ICO guidance on how a DPIA should be conducted. We hoped receive this by close of business on 24 March so that we could reassure members. When we finally received it on Friday 27 March it had been back-dated to commence 23 March. The committee is reviewing this and will share more detailed feedback with the university and its members today or tomorrow.

We will all be back on the Edinburgh pickets tomorrow from 8.00 am. Bring yourself, your placards, your puppies, your baked goods! Full solidarity with our members striking in Orkney and the Borders – you are stars.

Thank you again to all the members and students who made it to the pickets today, and also to our striking members. Today we were visited by the Fair Deal Flamingo and the Bat, who needs a picket line name. Next week we expect further guests.

Some of our committee members were at the UCU Scotland Congress on Friday. The commitment of our branch members has been praised by the UCU UK President, the UCU Scotland President, and members of branches across the country. We do not stand alone.

Negotiations

The University Secretary has reiterated that compulsory redundancies will remain an option. We believe that compulsory redundancies are neither necessary or proportionate. Our negotiators are trying to arrange the next meeting with university management and we will continue to try and find a mutually acceptable agreement.

Each person striking and each person picketing shows the university how much you care not only about your own job, your own research time, but also your friends’, colleagues’ and comrades’ jobs.

We are the university. Our labour makes the university. We will be back on the pickets from 8:00 am on Monday and we look forward to seeing you all.  Puppies, costumes, and doughnuts welcome. Come along and be part of a community of staff and students which spans all of the schools and services – colleagues and friends who stand together.

Another big thank you to everyone who was on strike today, and to those who attended the picket. We had our special visitors again today: Dino Watt, Compulsory Chicken, and the Worker Bee.

The strike will continue tomorrow and then again from Monday next week. Member support for the strike is vital. If members are facing financial hardship they may be able to claim on the local hardship fund, Striking members who face severe financial able to access the hardship fund if striking poses severe financial hardship. Each one of us is striking to protect not only our own jobs but also the jobs of those we work with and may consider friends.

Some of our committee members will be representing the branch at the UCU Scotland Congress but the picket will continue. If you can, join us. It is a great way to feel part of something bigger.

Members should also observe Action Short of a Strike which means not undertaking additional duties or working extra hours.

We have had further communications with the University Executive, including early discussions about a meeting in early April. We will aim to hold a members’ meeting before we meet with the university management to be sure we are representing your views.

A big thank you to all the members who attended the branch meeting yesterday. Sadly we had to report that we did not received an updated proposal from the university, and that they rejected our very reasonable proposal for avoidance of compulsory redundancies.

We believe that compulsory redundancies can be avoided in LINCS and Scholar by extending the window of opportunity for staff to take up the offer of voluntary redundancy alongside more effort and investment in growing their incomes to ensure long term success.

Unfortunately, offers by our negotiators to meet before the strikes, and even during the strikes if a suitable offer is received, have not been taken up. We have acted in good faith and the behaviour of university negotiating team has been disappointing but we remain committed to working with them in order to find an acceptable solution.

The power of collective action

It sounds like a cliche but an injury to one is truly an injury to all. Collective action has saved jobs at Heriot-Watt before and it will save jobs along with research time again.

Members have a critical role to play in this by ensuring that we have the strongest possible negotiating position. Please continue to participate in both strike days and action short of strike to demonstrate the strength of our resolve to management.

And if you can, drop by and join us on the picket too. We will be there every strike day from 08:00 until 11:00.

Press coverage

• BBC Radio Scotland Lunchtime Live 25/6/2026 (from 01:06)
• BBC Radio Scotland Drivetime 25/6/2026
• Reporting Scotland 25/6/2026 (from 12:00)

Spring sunshine and another excellent turnout of staff and students. Our special visitor today was Dr Scott Arthur MP who shared his solidarity and a commitment to support our campaign for no compulsory redundancies.

Scott has submitted an early day motion for a debate in the House of Commons about the industrial action by UCU at Scottish universities and the mismanagement and underfunding which is affecting the sector.

Today is the last of our first block of strike days. Friday 20 March is a normal working day, as are Monday and Tuesday of next week. The negotiating team will be writing to the university management tomorrow with your feedback on their offer from last week. We remain hopeful that the discussions will be productive but unless we hear otherwise strike action will resume with another block of 3 days from Wednesday 25 March.

Students’ Union vote

In a quorate vote the Students’ Union have voted overwhelmingly to support our action to defend programmes and jobs. This is a fight for their education too and for all those who follow.

Scholar

One student told us today that without the work of Scholar during the pandemic they would not have been able to access higher education. A good reminder of the value of Scholar not just to secondary school students but also in recruitment for the university.

Come on Heriot-Watt are you seriously going to break up Scholar and make staff redundant disadvantaging students and secondary school pupils up and down the country because of a small deficit after years of skimming the surplus and failing to reinvest?

We are talking about deficit comparable with just one person’s salary. The annual accounts for 2025 show that the principal was paid £372,000 with various other benefits, including free accommodation, on top.

And at a time when there is a significant squeeze on finances the accounts show a huge growth in the number of salaried senior staff and partner consultants who are paid in excess of £100,000. Whose interests are really being put first here? 

LINCS

Nothing reassures staff that they are “at the heart of everything we do” like telling them to dismantle their own jobs by instructing them to delete the courses and programs they work on and then informing a group of 10 via an all-staff email that 5 have to go or they will all face compulsory redundancy.
Seriously, Heriot-Watt. Where are your values and do you have no compassion or concern for the wellbeing of your staff?

Reporting Strike Action

Staff will have received emails regarding changes to the way in which strike action is to be reported. This involves the use of an app which reports strike action to line managers for processing. Your branch committee have strong reservations about this approach. It create creates additional work for line managers and assumes that will not themselves be taking part in industrial action.

We have question too about the security of the data and with whom it is shared. Trade union membership is considered special category data and we have not yet seen a DPIA from the university for how this information will be processed and then destroyed.

UCU Scotland are taking these questions directly to the Global Director of HR and we hope to be able to update you soon. In the meantime if you have any concerns we would suggest that you contact the HR Helpdesk directly.

Another great show on the picket for day 2 of strike action. We were joined again by our super supportive students and some special guests including Nick Cimini from the ENU branch of EIS-ULA, Grant Buttars from the University of Edinburgh branch of UCU, a film crew from the BBC, and the Dinosaur of Solidarity.

The picket is a great way to show our employer how much we care about the university and about each other. We will all be back again tomorrow from 8:00 to 11:00 and we hope to be joined again by some more special guests. Please come a long even if only for an hour or so to show your solidarity. Don’t be worried that you won’t know anyone. Please just find one of committee members and we will introduce you to colleagues.

Press coverage

• https://www.scotsman.com/news/lecturers-to-strike-at-four-scottish-universities-today-5959370
• https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/lecturers-four-scottish-universities-go-36878075
• https://news.stv.tv/west-central/lecturers-at-four-scottish-universities-to-go-on-strike-in-job-cuts-dispute

We had a huge turnout today on the first day of strike action. One of our largest ever with a strong show of support from students who are also very concerned about the proposed changes. Thank you to everyone who turned up at the picket and to all those members elsewhere who observed the strike. Thank you also to the staff at UCU Scotland for their continued support.

Being on strike can sometimes feel isolating. The picket is a great place to come and meet colleagues and friends old and new alike as we all stand together in solidarity. Tomorrow is day 2 so join us and help keep up the pressure. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible tomorrow.

Online joint rally

Three other branches are also on strike this week over job cuts and course closures and we have jointly organised a big online rally at 10.30 on Wednesday 18 March. You can register to join at https://tinyurl.com/UCUScotRally180326 

Reporting strike action

The university has introduced a new method of reporting strike action and you may have seen the emails. The committee has reservations about this approach and we are seeking advice from UCU Scotland on the legality of this approach. We will get back to you before Friday with guidance.

Negotiations

The negotiating team will continue to try and resolve the dispute with the university and we are working on a counter proposal to put to the university. If you have any views which you would like to make known please speak to one of the team on the picket or drop us an email.

The university made an offer which was put to branch members at a meeting on Friday. Some progress has been made on research time but the university has not committed to ruling out compulsory redundancies as a result of ‘rightsizing’ or changes to Scholar.

Staff in Lincs and Scholar are still at threat of compulsory redundancy and members voted overwhelmingly to continue strike action starting Tuesday 17 March 2026 in order to protect these jobs.

Our members in Scholar and Lincs have asked us to pass on their thanks to the broader membership for their unwavering solidarity at a time of great stress and uncertainty. The committee also thanks the membership for their support.

Strike days

This is lawfully called industrial action; members are legally protected against any detriment for participation. Please let the branch know immediately if you feel at risk of detriment. The strike days are as follows:

• 17, 18, 19 March
• 25, 26, 27 March
• 30, 31 March
• 1 April

Members will be on strike at all of our UK campuses but the picket will begin at 08:00 each morning outside the main entrance (across from the roundabout) of the Edinburgh campus and run until 11:00. There will be a group photo at 10:00. Please bring you own creative placards and banners to go alongside those of the UCU and lets make this the biggest picket we have seen.

You may wish to bring a seat, snacks and something to drink with you, and members will be able to use the facilities in the students’ union from 09:00. If you are joining the picket then visiting the students’ union or parking on campus will not constitute crossing the picket line.

Dogs, children, and dinosaurs all very welcome.

Declaring strike action

Members may wish to inform students of potential disruption to lectures and tutorials but you have no obligation to tell your line manager or the university that you plan to strike before the action takes place.

When asked after any strike days if you took part in industrial action you must declare truthfully whether you did. It is important too for demonstrating the strength of the action to management.

More information will follow on how to declare participation in strike action, what deductions will be made from pay and how to make a claim on the local Hardship Fund if required.