Industrial action information 2024
Latest information for students about industrial action
The ongoing national staff pay dispute is affecting Scottish colleges, including UHI Inverness. We want to keep you informed and to minimise the impact on you as much as possible.
Resulting boycott and working to rule
UHI Inverness lecturing staff who are members of the EIS-FELA trade union have been asked to take part in continuous industrial Action Short of Strike Action (ASOS) from Monday, 12 February until Monday, 15 July.
There are two parts to this action:
- Resulting boycott - this involves lecturers withholding students’ marks from our records system. This does not prevent lecturers participating in the boycott from providing you with feedback. Last year a small number of our staff participated.
- Work to rule - this means they will perform their duties strictly in accordance with their contracts.
Strike action
We have also been informed the trade unions EIS-FELA and UNISON are taking industrial action in the form of discontinuous strike action.
The next date for strike action by EIS is:
- Wednesday, 1 May
We do not know in advance how many staff members will participate in strike action, but our campuses usually remain open on strike days and all services, including the library, canteens and Student Support Centre, operate as usual. We also put plans in place to ensure the safety of our students and staff during strike action.
We will inform you about industrial action updates through a variety of platforms, including your student email account, the MyDay newsroom and our social media channels.
Why is the strike happening?
Matters of pay, terms and conditions are negotiated and resolved nationally with College Employers Scotland. The current pay offer for lecturers and professional services staff is a three-year, consolidated pay rise of £5,000.
What are we doing about this?
We continue to support the talks between the trade unions and College Employers Scotland and we hope this national dispute can be resolved as quickly as possible.
Colleges across Scotland, including UHI Inverness, are eager to apply the full and final pay offer from the employers in the earliest possible pay period.