As part of an ongoing dispute between the lecturers' union EIS and Colleges Scotland, another set of strike dates have been announced. These will likely cause disruption to your education, so please read carefully through the information issued by the college, below. If you have any scheduled exams, you MUST attend these as normal - if you do not attend, you will not be able to resit.

Dear students,

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union, which represents teaching staff, is holding national strike action at colleges across the country, starting this Thursday, 27 April. The union also plans more strike days in the following weeks.

We understand that you may have concerns about the strike and the effect it will have, but we are doing everything we can to minimise disruption to your studies. The most important thing for the college is to support you and make sure you know what the strike means for you, so please read the information below:

The college will remain open and students should come in to college

All campuses will remain open to students and staff. Staff not taking part in the strike will come to work as normal. College facilities will be open and available to students, including the libraries, IT services and food courts.

On strike days, teaching staff who are members of the EIS and choose to take part will not be at work. We won’t know until the day of each strike which lecturers will not be in, but we expect all students still to come to college.

Where possible, we will cover classes. Classes will only be cancelled if there is no alternative. Where it is not possible to cover classes, there will be support in place for self-directed study. The college will make sure that students’ bursaries are not affected if a class has to be cancelled.

Students must attend exams

Exams that are scheduled to take place on strike days will not be cancelled or rescheduled. Students must attend college to sit their exams. Any student who does not attend an exam will not have the opportunity to resit.

Full list of planned strike dates

  • Thursday 27 April
  • Wednesday 3 May
  • Tuesday 9 May and Thursday 11 May
  • Tuesday 16 May and Wednesday 17 May
  • Tuesday 23 May, Wednesday 24 May & Thursday 25 May
  • Tuesday 30 May, Wednesday 31 May & Thursday 1 June

 

The strike is a national strike

This strike is a national strike across Scotland, affecting all colleges.

Moodle available

The college’s virtual learning environment, Moodle, will be available throughout strike action so you can keep up to date with your studies. Your lecturers will let you know in advance of anything important you should be aware of and any available materials.

What to do if your class is not on and you have any queries

If your class is not on you can use college facilities for self-directed study, but if you have any queries contact Student Support at your campus or ECSA.

School groups will not be coming in on strike days

As we won’t know in advance what classes will be affected, we have decided it is best if students from schools do not come in on strike days. We are writing to all schools to let them know.

Picketing

It is possible that during industrial action EIS members or officials will set up picket lines at college sites. Pickets are allowed by law to peacefully communicate information about a dispute and to attempt peacefully to persuade fellow members of staff not to work. Pickets must not prevent staff attending work and any person who decides to cross a picket line, whether they are a member of EIS or not, must be allowed to do so. As a student, you will also be able to cross the picket line as you wish. To be part of the official picket line, however, it is essential to be an EIS member.

Employers

We are writing to all employers to let them know of the strike action so they will be aware of everything taking place. This is the current position. We will keep you updated with any developments and will continue to work to minimise any disruption to your learning.

Best wishes,

Annette Bruton
Principal
Edinburgh College