Staff news

Marking and assessment boycott

A joint statement has been agreed between the University and UCU-Edinburgh.

Following the results of the UCU-Edinburgh branch meeting and an e-ballot to their members earlier this week, I am pleased to let you know that UCU-Edinburgh have agreed to the joint statement which the University and UCU-Edinburgh have been involved in developing in the last week.

This is a welcome and significant step forward which means that strike action will no longer take place in September, and Welcome Week activities will continue as planned. This will enable our students to fully participate in the new academic year and all that it has to offer. UCU-Edinburgh will encourage members to prioritise outstanding marking so that this marking will be complete to allow the October exam boards to run smoothly. To achieve this goal, line managers will ensure that the appropriate prioritisation of marking is managed within the overall workload of individual members. We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that all marking is completed and accounted for at the earliest opportunity so that our students can move on with their lives.

We have therefore agreed to pause pay deductions associated with participation in the marking and assessment boycott from 1 July.

We will shortly be contacting any undergraduate students who are still awaiting an award or classification to let them know about this significant progress.

We will continue to work in partnership to address issues affecting staff, including the grade scale, equalities, casualisation and workload. We have already made good progress on investing in staff, for example through the recently announced enhanced financial support for our international staff community applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain, and increased holiday allowance for staff on grades 1-5.

The statement can be read below and commits both sides to significant steps, which we all hope will allow us to move forward positively.

Joint Statement from the University and UCU-Edinburgh, 4 August 2023

Professor Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor