Background to the Strike

The recognised trade Union for college teaching staff, EIS (Educational Institute of Scotland), have voted to take strike action, starting with a 1 day strike on Thursday the 2nd of March 2017.

This is a local strike, specific to Edinburgh College, and, if the issue is not resolved, they plan to have more strike days in the coming weeks.

Further Information

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS – COLLEGE STRIKE THIS THURSDAY

Dear students, One of the college’s recognised trade unions, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), which represents teaching staff, has told us it intends to hold a full day of strike action this Thursday, 2 March. 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

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.

Classes may not go ahead but bursary payments will not be affected

On strike days, teaching staff who are members of the EIS and choose to take part will not be at work, so their classes will not go ahead. We will not know until the day of each strike what classes will be going ahead, but we expect students to come to college. However, your attendance will be registered in advance whether your lecturer is taking part in the strike action or not – so your bursary will not be affected if your class is not on.

Full list of planned strike dates:

  • Thursday 2 March
  • Wednesday 8 March
  • Tuesday 14 March
  • Thursday 16 March
  • Tuesday 21 March
  • Wednesday 22 March

The strike is only at Edinburgh College This strike is a local action only taking place at Edinburgh College, and has been called by the local branch of the EIS union. It is not being held at other colleges in Scotland.

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 do not 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

 

Dear student,

You may have heard that lecturers, LDTs and instructors at Edinburgh College have voted in favour of strike action. This has now been confirmed for Thursday 2 March. Given that your classes will not be running as planned on that day, we wanted out of courtesy to explain to you the reasons behind our action.

One of our colleagues, a lecturer at Milton Rd campus, has been sacked in the most dubious of circumstances. During his hearing and appeal, EIS union officials were denied the opportunity to question his anonymous accusers. In fact, at each stage, the College chose to flout and ignore procedures designed to protect staff who find themselves in such circumstances.

He has done no harm to anyone. His sacking was based only on whether he could be trusted to tell the truth (about a non-work related matter), even though the anonymous accusations had been demonstrated to contain malicious untruths.

As you can imagine, these events have left your lecturers feeling concerned for their colleague, and vulnerable themselves. If such an injustice can be perpetrated on one of us, it can happen to any of us. We regret the disruption to your study but hope you will understand why we have no choice but to stand by our colleague.

How can you show your support?

Please join your lecturers at Holyrood, Thursday 2 March, 12pm, where we will be gathering to meet MSPs. Your presence will be much appreciated, and demonstrate to the College that students also understand what is at stake in this dispute. An injury to one is an injury to all.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Will the College be open on strike day?

Yes. Teaching staff who are members of the EIS Union will be taking strike action on the 2nd of March.  However, the College will remain open and as many services will be run as possible, including the libraries and catering outlets.

  1. Will my lecturer be striking?

We have no way of knowing if each individual lecturer will participate. We would encourage all students to ask their lecturers for the classes they have for the 2nd of March if they intend in participating. However, it is important to note that, legally, lecturers do not have to tell you in advance if they are participating or not.

  1. Should I come into College on the strike day?

The College will be open on the 2nd of March with study spaces and facilities available for students who are on campus. It is up to every individual student to decide what is best for them. No student should feel as if they can’t come into College due to the strike action if they wish to do so.

  1. If I don’t go into College on the 2nd of March, will it affect my bursary?

No. On strike days, students’ attendance will be registered in advance and, if you do not come into college, bursary payments will not be affected in any way.

  1. If my lecturer is on strike and, therefore, my class doesn’t take place, will there be alternative classes put in place to make up for it?

Libraries and learning centres will all be open and staffed on strike days and many departments are putting alternative learning activities in place. ECSA is working with the College to minimise disruptions to students as much as possible. We are keen to find out what arrangements might have been made for your classes, so please let us know if you have had alternative classes scheduled or assignment dates extended, etc. Students are encouraged to speak to departments and staff at a local level to find out if any alternate arrangement have been put in place or if classes will continue as normal for their specific courses.

  1. If I still have questions about the strike that aren’t answered already, who can I contact?

If, after reading all of the College communications on the strikes, you still have questions, you can speak to your Class Rep, contact us on contact@ecsa.scot, on our facebook page, or pop into one of our campus offices.