Joiners employed by the University of Edinburgh have begun strike action for 72 hours starting today (23 June) in a long-running dispute over pay.
The estates department workers, who are represented by trade union Unite, have taken industrial action due to being paid around £2,000 a year less than locksmiths.
The employees voted for strike action by 100% earlier in the year following failed negotiations with university management to address this pay disparity. They also pointed out that they are required to be available around the clock to provide an out-of-hours service in the event students have problems accessing their accommodation during the night, which they have stated is critical to safety on campus.
The first planned strike will continue until 26 June, with other planned dates including 30 June to 3 July, 7-10 July and 14-17 July.
Previous planned rounds of strike action in May were suspended to allow talks with university management, but these have not resulted in a resolution.
Pat Egan, industrial officer at Unite, said: “The joiners at the University of Edinburgh fully deserve pay parity with other tradespersons on campus. University management have failed to address this long-standing pay disparity. Joiners are being paid around £2,000 a year less than locksmiths which is totally unacceptable. This why our members voted by 100% to take strike action.
“We suspended previous rounds of strike action as a gesture of goodwill to allow talks to happen. But there’s been no progress which is why a series of stoppages will now take place during June and July.”
The University of Edinburgh has been contacted for comment prior to publication.