Category Archives: On strike

More special guests on day 4 of the strike

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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

 

Special visitor, student support, and reporting strike action

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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.

 

 

On the picket with some special guests

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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

Pickets in Edinburgh and Orkney on first day of strike action

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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.

 

Strike action to begin on Tuesday 17 March

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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.

Members’ Meeting to discuss offer from management

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We are scheduling a Members’ Meeting for 13:00 on Friday 13 March to discuss a potential offer which we are expecting to receive from the university management.

If an offer is made we will discuss and vote on it as a branch at the meeting. If an offer is not received the meeting will still proceed so that we can update members on the dispute and discuss the next steps.

The branch negotiators have made it clear that members would be unlikely to agree to call off further strike action unless we receive an offer which resolves the dispute.

If members have any questions about the negotiations and the strike action scheduled to start on Tuesday 17 March we will be able to answer them at the meeting.

If you can, please attend the meeting and be part of the discussions. We appreciate that not all members will be able to make the meeting and we will send out an update by email after for those who were unable to attend.

We look forward to seeing as many members as possible on Friday.

Action Short of Strike

We are currently undertaking Action Short of Strike (ASOS) until the dispute is resolved. Guidance on ASOS can be found at https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/13289/Taking-action-short-of-a-strike-ASOS

Observing ASOS helps us keep pressure on our employer by amplifing the impact of our strike action, so please do support your branch by following the ASOS guidance.

Heriot-Watt is on strike for fair pay and working conditions

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Monday

Our employers may consider the 2022-23 pay negotiations to have been concluded with the imposed national uplift, but we do not. It fell far short. The 4-Fights dispute over fair pay and working conditions will continue until the Vice Chancellors use some of the record income that the sector is generating and the piles cash on which they are sitting to address the erosion of everyone else’s pay apart from their own and tackle the issues of excessive workloads, inequality, and insecure contracts.

We are on strike because we care passionately about our students, our stakeholders and research partners, our local community, and the environment. Our senior leadership team are failing to deliver on Strategy 2025 and the key performance indicators by which they should be judged. Staff and student satisfaction is at an all-time low, student to staff ratios are increasing, teaching and research facilities are inadequate, and our support systems are a shambles. These failures are reflected in our rankings and failures to secure funding. Shamelessly executive pay has increased, and it is the same up and down the country. It is the experience which should be rich, not the fat cats at the top.

You can help make it better. Support our staff. Support our students. Save the planet. Support the strike!

Strike action confirmed for week of 25-29 September

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A big thank-you to all of the local members who were able to attend the online EGM yesterday and contribute to the discussions and vote at such short notice. The meeting was quorate and the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of continuing the strike action, consistent with the branch position at the end of August when members voted in favour of using the remaining mandate for strike action.

It is the beginning of a new session and no-one wants to be on strike but we need to hit our employers hard in order to force them back into negotiations over pay and working conditions. The only way to do this is with a complete withdrawal of labour. We will be standing with UCU members from branches up and down the UK as well as colleagues from Unite and Unison who remain committed to collective action as a means to secure fair pay and working conditions across the sector.

Picket line

The picket will form 8.00am each morning at the main gate and there with a group photo opportunity at 10.00am.

Strike Pay

Members will be able to apply to the national fighting fund for days 3,4 and 5 of the strike. We will take a vote to the branch members to enable the local hardship fund to be used to support members for days 1 and 2.

 

 

Emergency Members’ Meeting 19 September 2023

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We will be holding and online Emergency Members’ Meeting via Zoom at 4.00pm on Tuesday 19 September 2023 to consult branch members about next week’s strike action over pay and working conditions as requested by UCU national.

Please check your inbox for the link to the meeting.

We will try to keep it short with a brief introduction from the branch committee that sets out the current position with all the relevant information. Make no mistake, our employers and UCEA are continuing to try and sit this out with little regard for staff and student welfare, or academic standards. After this there will be an opportunity for questions, clarification, and debate. We will move to voting as close to 4.30pm as possible.

After any votes there will be some time for a more general discussion on how to progress the dispute both locally and nationally, and what we might want to feed back to UCU national.

There will be an opportunity to raise and discuss other issues relating to working at HWU under AOB at the end of the meeting.

It is very short notice but it is very important that you attend and have your say at a quorate meeting. Please attend if at all possible.

MAB withdrawn and new strike days announced

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Following a consultative e-ballot with the membership UCU national have announced that Marking and Assessment Boycott has been withdrawn as of 6 September 2023.

With the MAB called off members can resume marking duties and the setting of assessments but only as and when it fits in around other demands at work. If your manager or anyone else at work tries to pressure you into doing work immediately or in an unrealistic time frame given other jobs, please contact your local rep.

School reps will be meeting with mangers to discuss which marking is and is not required, the order in which it will be done and how it is fit around other work in what is already a very bus time of year. We are still working ASOS and no-one should be working beyond their contracted hours.

This will be the first time that our employers have not returned wages in return for marking.

If you have queries about the number of days deducted please get in touch with your local rep. That is has been so difficult to implement highlights that our employer should not have applied such a draconian and punitive policy, deducting far in excess of the hours required. It also demonstrates the ongoing inability of the ERP and Finance to deliver the most basic of functionality.

For those who have been deducted we have a local hardship fund to top up payments from the national fighting fund. If you need to claim, please do.

There is also scope for legal action to recover wages on the basis that they have been deducted unfairly. UCU have circulated further information on the legal action that can be taken to challenge unfair MAB deductions and claims have already started at other branches. Members affected are asked to use this proforma UCU – ASOS/MAB – Questionnaire (member login required).

Strike days

Our employers have been notified of 5 full days of strike action to take place between 25 and 29 September 2023.

We deserve a fair wage, secure employment, and an end to pay gaps. Our members have shown great resilience, perseverance, and courage throughout this dispute. It is bitterly disappointing that UCEA has decided to sit this out regardless of the consequences for staff, students, and academic standards. We should not let the employers get away with this.

A ballot to secure a fresh mandate to continue the dispute and take the fight to the employer will follow.