Heriot-Watt strikes escalate as union battles job losses and course cuts
Staff at Heriot-Watt University have renewed a series of strikes over job cuts and proposals to close programmes.
Current plans at Heriot-Watt would see jobs lost in the department of languages and intercultural studies. This could see the end of undergraduate teaching of German and Chinese.
The online learning programme for school pupils, Scholar, would also see staff numbers cut.
The University and Colleges Union (UCU) said the number of jobs being lost around the country amounted to a "crisis" and have called on the Scottish Government to intervene.
On Tuesday, March 17, Heriot-Watt had their first day of strike action and this has now continued on Wednesday, March 25. They will also be striking on Thursday, March 26, Friday, March 27, Monday, March 30, Tuesday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 1.
Dan Green, vice president of the Heriot-Watt UCU branch, said: “What we’re hoping to achieve is actually very simple - we want the university to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies. We don’t think that they’re necessary or helpful in this situation.
“They’re an incredibly expensive, demoralising, and upsetting way of dealing with changes in staffing and we just don’t think there’s justification for using them in this case.”
He added the general dispute has had a “really demoralising” effect on staff.
“The fact that there are redundancies hanging over our heads and there are cuts to courses and programmes is really upsetting - the strikes are really a response to that.
“We’ve seen amazing support from both staff and students for the industrial action as a response to the situation the university has put us in.
“We’re disappointed the university haven’t taken the time to move on their position. They didn’t take the time to meet us in between last week’s strike dates and this week’s strike dates.
“The offer they sent us yesterday was really just a repetition of what had already been offered so we don’t really feel the university has made much of an effort to compromise on their position or to try reach agreement or resolution so that’s really disappointing for us as a trade union.”
A spokesperson for Heriot-Watt University said: “Universities across the UK are facing significant financial pressures, and rising costs require necessary decisions to ensure long-term sustainability.
“While we respect the right to lawful industrial action, it is disappointing that strike action is taking place while discussions with the University and College Union (UCU) are ongoing.
“The proposed reduction of 51 staff positions across our Scotland and Malaysia campuses follows detailed analysis of programme demand and delivery costs.”
They added that through the Paid Leavers Scheme and natural attrition, more than 42 colleagues have chosen to leave voluntarily.
The spokesperson said discussions now relate to nine roles within one School, where they are “seeking to minimise the impact” through voluntary redundancy.
“We recognise this is a difficult time for those affected and remain committed to resolving the remaining issues through voluntary options wherever possible,” they added.
"Our priority remains constructive dialogue and protecting the experience of our students while ensuring the University’s long-term sustainability.”
Universities across the country take strike action
Last week staff at Strathclyde, Aberdeen and Dundee universities also took strike action.
This comes amid a series of individual disputes against job cuts and worries over future compulsory redundancies.
At Aberdeen, cuts to jobs are planned to help save over £5m.
Strathclyde University are to cut 76 roles while Dundee plan to cut the equivalent of 180 full time roles.
Strikes are expected to resume at the University of Edinburgh next week. It comes amid a dispute over the university’s plans to cut its budget by £140 million.