Industrial Action 2026

University and College Union Edinburgh (UCUE) has a mandate for industrial action from a ballot that closed in October 2025. The mandate is for both strike action and action short of a strike, regarding the University not ruling out compulsory redundancies.

UCUE and University Agreement - December 2025

The University reached an agreement on an offer with UCUE on 3 December 2025. As part of this offer, no further staff would be placed at risk of compulsory redundancy as a result of the cost-saving programme before the end of UCUE’s current mandate, 28 April 2026. In return, UCUE agreed that there would be no industrial action up to the end of UCUE’s current mandate on 28 April 2026. 

By announcing strike action from 30 March to 3 April 2026, UCUE has broken the terms of the agreed offer. 

Strike Action 30 March - 3 April 2026

UCUE has voted to take strike action on the following dates:

• 30 March to 3 April (inclusive)

Action short of strike will also be continuous from 30 March 2026.

The University enacted contingency plans to mitigate disruption to the delivery of learning and teaching, and student experience whilst maintaining academic standards.

A dedicated webpage is available for students with up-to-date information on the industrial action. 

A dedicated staff Industrial Action SharePoint site containing useful information and the online declaration form is available to support staff.

Information for Staff

If you choose to participate in the industrial action, either by taking strike action, or by choosing not to cross the picket line, you are required to complete and submit an online declaration form, confirming your participation. 

The declaration form will be available from 9am on Monday 30 March. The form will close at 5pm on Friday 24 April. If you have any questions about submitting a declaration, please contact HR by raising a Service Request, using the category ‘Industrial Relations’.