A letter to our students
As promised, I'm writing with further information about the strike.
Once more, I wanted to emphasise that going on strike is the last resort for staff: we love teaching and care very much about our students and your education.
However, your learning conditions are also our working conditions! Therefore, from [add STRIKE START DATE] Monday 28 September, I, alongside many colleagues from UCU Edinburgh across the university, will go on strike (this includes a digital picket) as a result of University of Edinburgh senior management’s catastrophic cuts, including hidden redundancies and a refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies.
Why is industrial action taking place? As you may have seen, senior management's ongoing financially driven restructuring of the University's Colleges and Schools, on which management refuses to meaningfully consult with UCU, has included a decision to cut 90 programmes in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) alone.
Despite being financially unjustified, staff cuts of £92 million have been proposed and are already underway, with the potential for 1800 jobs across the university to be cut.
UCU Edinburgh is resisting management’s wanton cultural vandalism and the undermining of our students' education and learning conditions. We insist, instead, that management prioritizes staff job security and our programmes’ integrity; staff wellbeing; the provision of essential support services to all students, staff, and visitors; and the future of quality higher education and research at the University.
For further information about industrial action and why the strike is happening, you can consult these two pages: why the strike is happening and more about industrial action.
What can students do to help protect your courses’ future?
Send your concerns about the strike to the University's Principal, Professor Peter Mathieson (principal@ed.ac.uk), and ask him to listen to and negotiate meaningfully with staff and with UCU
Tell your friends about the dispute!
Join pickets and teach-outs: information on pickets (where many of your teachers and support services staff will be) and teach-outs taking place during the strike will be available on UCU Edinburgh’s branch website and social media. Future meetings of the Staff-Student Assembly will also be advertised there.
We really hope that the dispute can be resolved as soon as possible so that we can come back to work and teach you!
In the meantime, carry on preparing for your weekly classes (note that you will not be examined on any untaught material), and continue to meet with your fellow students.**
If you’re experiencing a difficult situation and wish to speak to someone in confidence, refer to the Advice Place or the out-of-hours student support page.
Staff and students are what make our university - the university cannot function without us.
** UCU never has picket lines outside the Health & Wellbeing centre, as we know students need this space; Library and Information Services staff may be present outside the Main Library but will simply explain to you why they are there.