National Strike Action

*Updated 2nd September 2024*

After successful negotiations with College Employers Scotland, we are pleased to report that EIS/FELA have reached an agreement on behalf of all lecturers in Scotland.

This means all proposed strikes going forward are now cancelled and you should attend your college class timetable as normal.



What has College Employers Scotland said?

College Employers Scotland (CES) works and negotiates on behalf of Scotland’s colleges with the trade unions in the college sector.

College Employers Scotland, which represents college employers, has now made its full and final pay offers to EIS-FELA to settle the current pay disputes.

The employers’ pay offers are for a £5,000 consolidated pay offer from employers includes the offer of a £2,000 pay rise for Academic Year (AY) 2022/23 and £1,500 for AY 2023/24, together with a £1,500 rise in AY 2024/25

When will the strikes happen?

Strike action is currently suspended whilst negotiations take place.

This page will be updated with any further notices.

Please refer to the FAQs below for further information


Strike Action FAQs

Our college campuses in Dumfries and Stranraer will remain open although classes may not run. Your Lecturer may confirm if your class is going ahead as scheduled.

The teaching union EIS/FELA have balloted their members on whether to take strike action. Their members have indicated that they are prepared to take strike action. Our Lecturers are not obliged to tell us if they are going out on strike, we cannot confirm whether your Lecturer will be at work.

All students will be given a positive attendance for any days of strike action.

You can still access electronic resources on Microsoft Team and LearnNet. You can use the time to catch up on preparation towards assessment or self-directed study.

Remember this is a national strike and there will be a national approach to this issue as a result.  We will work with you to ensure that we do everything possible to enable your next step in learning or move into employment.

Lecturers are going on strike as a result of a dispute related to pay.

Yes, all teaching and support staff in Scotland have been encouraged to take strike action. 

On dates indicated for strikes, above, Lecturing and Support staff may not attend work and as such online or in-person classes may not run.

The library is open and staffed as normal. If students are unable to return library books during this time – or have other queries – they can email thelibrary@dumgal.ac.uk

While our college campuses will remain open, if you’re due to be on campus, your classes or assessments may not run on the dates indicated above.

If you’re due to attend a class or take an assessment online, these also may not run on the affected dates.

Your Lecturer may confirm if your class or assessment is going ahead as scheduled.

If you come to our Dumfries or Stranraer campuses and find your class is cancelled, we’ll be able to accommodate you. We will have study spaces available for you to use.

Student Support

As a reminder, our student support services are available if you need them. If you need to speak to a member of our team, please get in touch via the email addresses below.

You can also access our mental health & wellbeing service via the Student Portal