EIS FAQ on Strike Action at City of Glasgow College

The purpose of the strike action is to continue to put pressure on the College to roll back on the proposed cuts and redundancies. EIS-FELA members want an end to this dispute which puts Fair Work at the heart of industrial relations moving forward.

We have emailed all members individually to confirm their strike day with them.

Q2. I voted against strike action - should I go on strike?

Yes, you should. Trade unions are democratic bodies and act for the collective good. The ballot was carried out independently and the result reflects the membership's decision as a whole.

Q3. Is this strike action lawful?

Yes, because the EIS carried out a lawful statutory ballot for strike action that was overseen by an independent scrutineer. Furthermore, the EIS has issued the required statutory strike notice to the College and it has not been challenged or interdicted.

Q4. Am I breaching my contract by going out on strike?

Yes, any industrial action is a breach of contract as you are withholding your labour. However, your breach of contract (i.e. strike action) is protected by law as we have obtained a lawful strike mandate.

Q5. Can I be dismissed for taking strike action?

You are protected from automatic unfair dismissal (including redundancy) on grounds related to the strike action for the first 12 weeks of the strike. Thereafter, an employer may dismiss you if they can show that they have made an effort to resolve the dispute. The EIS would dispute that they have made an effort to resolve the dispute and would challenge the fairness of such dismissal.

EIS-FELA reps did ask senior management if there were any intention of treating those who take part in continued strike action with detriment or even dismissal. We were assured this was absolutely not the case. If we hear of anyone being treated with detriment, served Notice of dismissal, investigated under disciplinary proceedings, or summarily dismissed due to continued strike action they will be supported and defended robustly.

As far as we know, no employer in Scotland has relied on this legislation or dismissed an employee for undertaking lawful strike action to date.

Q6. Do I lose continuity of service by going out on strike?

No. Your service is not broken or reset by carrying out strike action – even if you were out on continuous strike action for 12 weeks.

You do not, however, accrue service on days of strike action – in effect, your service will be paused on strike days without a break, i.e. it is not reset.

Q7. What do I do on a strike day?

You are encouraged to join a picket line in the morning in order to show the strength of feeling from branch members. There may be other activities organised on strike days too.

Ultimately, your time is your own on a strike day. You can spend the time doing whatever you wish (except activity related to work).

Q8. Why is the picket important?

Technically, the role of an EIS picket is to:

Communicate information to members, pupils, parents/carers and other third parties.
Persuade EIS members to abstain from work, i.e. to not cross the picket line.

In reality, picketing forms several other functions too:

Brings striking members together to form a sense of camaraderie, which is beneficial to the Branch.
Allows social media activity to be generated.
Shows to the employer that the strike is well-supported and strong.
Shows to other members and other staff that the strike is well-supported and strong.
Allows members to discuss the ongoing dispute and often meet full-time officials or elected leaders.

Q9. Does the EIS issue guidance on pickets?

Yes, we do, it may be found on our website here.

Q10. The College has asked me to confirm whether I will be striking?

You do not need to advise the College in advance that you will be striking since we have provided the legal notice required on your behalf.

By law, we do not need inform the College of individuals by name – simply the number of (lecturer) members per workplace.

Q11. What are “strike exemptions” and can I apply for one?

Trade unions issue exemptions to members to allow them to cross the picket line on strike days. We will provide exemption for lecturers who are within the first five months of pregnancy (as the strike may affect maternity pay) and exemptions for members who are facing redundancy under certain circumstances (see Q25)

Q12. Will the EIS be paying strike pay?

Yes, we will be paying 100% of members’ net salaries lost due to local strike days.

Q13. How much will each strike day cost me?

Each strike day is deducted at 1/365th of your annual salary. However, as the tax, national insurance and pension deductions are not made then the net effect is less than 1/235th of your gross salary. This is what the EIS will pay in strike pay.

Q14. I am a bank or temporary lecturer, should I be on strike too?

Yes, if you are contracted to work on strike days.

Q15. Can I take money out of my pension to cover the lost salary for a strike day?

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency offers no facility to access pensions in this way.

Q16. Can I buy back the pension service lost on a strike day?

No, the SPPA will not allow this.

Pension contributions are also deducted at 1/365^th of your salary. The part of your pension that would be affected is the CARE pension which would result in the loss of pension accrual of £2.08 per annum for a lecturer at the top of the scale (£43,357/365/57).

Q17. I am not sure my details are up to date.

Q18. If I join the EIS before the strike would I be included in the strike mandate – i.e. could I strike and be protected by the EIS mandate?

If you join the EIS by or on September 4^th then you will be covered by the strike mandate.

Q19. I am being asked to prepare remote/online learning activities for students to undertake from home on the strike day. Is this acceptable?

As a striking worker, you cannot be asked to put measures in place to compensate for the fact that you will be withdrawing your labour on the strike day.

Colleagues who are not striking should not be asked to deliver learning and teaching. A strike day is not a national crisis of the kind of the pandemic and all covid-related provisions have been withdrawn.

Regardless, staff who are not on strike, should not be asked to carry out duties that would otherwise have been undertaken by striking colleagues.

Q20. Do I have to tell the College after the strike that I have been on strike?

If you are asked by your employer after the strike if you carried out strike action then you should say “yes”, but only after the strike.

Q21. I refuse to strike – will I be expelled from the EIS?

It is unlawful for trade unions to discipline members for breaking trade union solidarity by refusing to strike.

Q22. Will ASOS continue alongside the industrial strike action? Can lecturers who do not take part in the strike action still continue with ASOS?

ASOS will continue on days when strike action does not take place. All lecturers are encouraged to continue taking part in ASOS. The strike action and the ASOS are designed to complement each other. ASOS covers a variety of areas including refusing to use VLE platforms and teach online. FAQs on ASOS are here.

Q23. If we are called to a consultation meeting during strike action, should we attend?

The aim of the strike is to negotiate alternatives to the cuts and redundancies. If you are called for an individual consultation meeting you should attend and an EIS-FELA rep will attend with you. EIS-FELA reps will continue to attend collective consultations during the strike period. The point of attending is to ensure we are putting forward alternatives to the proposed cuts and redundancies.

Q24. Will redundancy pay be reduced due to strike action?

Statutory redundancy pay (which is what is on ‘offer’ for compulsory redundancies) is calculated based on your age, length of continuous service and weekly pay.

Weekly pay is calculated differently depending on whether you have normal working hours and are paid a fixed salary or whether you have variable hours and pay (not due to strike or sickness).

If you have fixed hours/pay, strike action would not impact statutory redundancy pay even if the strike takes place in the 12 weeks before termination of employment. This is the same for those who may be on half pay due to sickness absence.
If you don’t have fixed hours/pay, statutory redundancy pay is calculated using the average of your pay in the 12 weeks before the termination date. Your average pay will be impacted by any deduction from pay due to strike action that took place in the 12 weeks before the termination date. You may apply for an exemption to strike action (see Q11).

Strike action does not break continuous service but pauses it. Strike action may affect the calculation of the length of your continuous service, depending on the date your continuous service started, the date of Notice and the termination date.

Your employer may also extend your notice period to require you to work the days back which were lost in the strike.

Each member will receive individual advice on how the strike action may affect your payments as it depends on how long your Notice period is, if given, and whether you have normal working hours/fixed pay during the redundancy payment calculation period. Please get in touch with Sarah Collins scollins@eis.org.uk if you have further questions.

The aim of the strike is to stop redundancies and enter into a negotiation with management on these issues.

Q25. I have accepted voluntary severance. Will my settlement be impacted if I take strike action?

No. You are still encouraged to strike alongside other EIS-FELA members.

Q26. What else can I do?

Please contact EIS office bearers to find out what else you can do, apart from taking industrial action. You can follow branch updates on social media and write to your MSP using this template.

Strike FAQs