Friday August 7th 2026
Heriot-Watt University
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Heriot-Watt University today (Friday) begin two days of strike action in a dispute over job cuts and possible compulsory redundancies.
Staff will be on picket lines during the morning at the main entrance to the university campus. Staff at the university have taken 10 days of strike action since March but recent strikes planned for June were called off in last minute talks when a commitment was made for no compulsory redundancies in the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies before spring 2027. The union said that the promise has not been kept and that management were now looking at possible compulsory redundancies. The union said that management reneging on promises meant that the strikes were inevitable and the fault of management.
Jobs are also being cut at the long-running Scholar programme which provides web-based learning to schools and which is facing closure.
As well as taking two days of strike action, members are also voting in a ballot to extend the mandate for industrial action. The new ballot, which ends on 12 August, is necessary because mandates for strike action are time limited. Recent changes to trade union legislation means that the new ballot would last for a full 12 months leaving the threat of further strikes at the university into the 2026/27 academic year likely.
Kate Sang, Heriot-Watt branch president, said: “The failure of senior managers to keep their word on the deal for no compulsory redundancies until 2027 has left members at Heriot-Watt angry and disappointed in management. The fact these strikes are taking place is not down to the union not being willing to engage. It’s 100% down to management pressing on with their unnecessary plans to cut jobs and their stubbornness in refusing to rule out compulsory redundancies. We don’t want to be on strike, we want to be supporting students and carrying on with the essential research carried out at the university. This dispute could be resolved if management had the will to end it and kept to their word. Its surely now time for them to commit to not using compulsory redundancies and let staff get back to work.”
A Heriot-Watt University spokesperson told the Midlothian View: “UCU is in dispute with the University and, whilst the University’s focus is on achieving reductions through voluntary means wherever possible, we recognise that the root cause of the UCU dispute is that the University has not removed the potential of compulsory redundancy should that be necessary.
“The University proposed deferring compulsory redundancies and reducing the number of redundancies as part of a broader package to resolve the dispute, which UCU has not accepted. Good progress has been made through voluntary redundancies and redeployment measures, and we are working towards a total remaining staff reduction of fewer than 10.
“Like other universities we are operating in the context of significant financial challenges facing the sector. Heriot-Watt is taking action to ensure that resources are aligned with an academic portfolio that is relevant, academically strong and financially sustainable, to enable investment in areas of growing student demand. Our approach has been measured and evidence-based.
“We remain willing to continue discussions and will now consider the next steps needed to ensure our programmes remain academically strong, properly resourced and financially sustainable.”
Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said: “As the university principal prepares to leave Heriot-Watt at the end of the summer, he has a choice about the legacy he leaves behind. He can be remembered as the leader who broke commitments made to staff and oversaw job cuts, or as someone who kept his word and ruled out compulsory redundancies. Members have the full backing of the union in this fight, and even at this late stage, he has the opportunity to end this dispute and allow the university to move forward together.”
Tweet Share on Facebook
