What has happened?
Currently, there are issues that are affecting Edinburgh College staff locally, as well as issues that are occurring nationally, across Scotland’s Colleges.
Local Issues – Impacting Edinburgh College specifically
At the start of January 2023, Edinburgh College announced that it was running a consultation process to reduce staff numbers in certain departments. The overall aim of this was initially to reduce the number of Full Time Equivalent lecturer positions by 32. This number has since been revised to 36 Full Time Equivalent positions, and this target is still to be met.
National Issues – Impacting the whole of Scotland’s College sector
Lecturers across Scotland have voted to go on strike over a dispute about pay. Lecturers’ Union EIS have requested a £5,000 pay rise for all lecturing staff, while the employers have offered a rise of 3.5%, which has been rejected.
Further to disputes about pay, the Scottish Government recently announced they would be reversing a budgetary decision made in December 2022. The £26 million announced for Colleges in the 2023-24 Budget will no longer be coming to the College sector. You can read more about that here.
What action is planned and when?
Lecturers’ union EIS have voted to take “Action Short of a Strike” (ASOS) in national negotiations about pay, which means as of Tuesday 2nd May, many lecturers will be acting just as per their contract. This means:
- No additional outside of work hours or activities
- Lecturers will be marking students’ work but will not be entering grades into College systems. You can find out more about ASOS from this EIS video here.
In response to the local issues outlined above, there were going to be strikes at the College over the course of May 2023. These strikes have now been suspended. This means ALL CLASSES will go ahead as normal next week (week commencing Monday 15th May 2023) and the following week (week commencing Monday 22nd May 2023). - See College all-student e-mail here
EC Students’ Association will update this webpage as soon as further information is available. We will be here to answer any of your questions and are working with all partners to ensure this industrial action is over as soon as possible.
How does this affect me?
As the national dispute continues, “Action Short of a Strike” will undoubtedly have an impact on you as we move towards exam season.
Please be assured that EC Students’ Association are working closely with the College to minimise disruption to your studies, particularly during the exam period.
To make sure you don't miss out on the most up to date information, make sure you check your Edinburgh College email account daily, as well as the College’s:
What can I do?
We understand that students will take different views on the strike action and may want to take action and make your voices heard on these difficult issues. Here are some suggestions as to how you can get involved:
- Talk to your lecturers and see how they feel
- Contact NUS Scotland
- Write to your MSPs
- Join the picket lines
- Keep checking your e-mails for updates
What is EC Students’ Association doing about the strikes?
These are incredibly challenging times for students, lecturers, staff and the whole College sector, with funding issues and the cost of living crisis at the heart of decision-making across the board. EC Students’ Association will work with all partners to push for a speedy end to this dispute and avoid increasing students’ stress and anxiety at this pivotal time of year. We strongly encourage both EIS and College Employers Scotland to put students first and get back round the negotiating table to find a solution as soon as possible.
At a local level, EC Students’ Association will work with colleagues across the institution and beyond to get as much information as possible to help keep students up to date as this action goes on.
If you have a question that hasn't been answered, if you want some advice, or to talk about what this action means for you, please get in touch and we will do our best to help. We hope that a fair resolution to this dispute can be achieved sooner, rather than later, as we enter a critical stage in the academic year for students.