Created on: 28 Oct 2026
The long-running Health & Safety dispute at City of Glasgow College (CoGC) is set to be raised at the Scottish Parliament.
Monica Lennon MSP (Scottish Labour) will ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with City of Glasgow College regarding reported concerns about exposure to carcinogenic welding fumes and the measures in place to ensure a safe environment for lecturers and students.
An EIS delegation, including national office bearers and representatives of the union branch at CoGC will be present at Parliament during today’s session.
EIS members within the Welding and Fabrication Department at CoGC have been engaged in a programme of strike action since March, as they seek vital improvements to protections for staff and students undertaking hazardous welding activities in the college.
In a joint letter to the First Minister in August, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley and STUC General Roz Foyer highlighted that the Health and Safety dispute remained unresolved after more than six (now more than eight) months, despite there being a very simple route to resolution.
The letter then called on the Scottish Government to exercise its overall responsibility for CoGC as a public body and intervene to facilitate the resolution of the dispute.
At the core of the dispute is the continuing refusal by CoGC to provide staff and students with Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) to reduce the risk of exposure to known carcinogenic materials to a level that is as low as reasonably practicable.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “No-one should have to go into their place of work, or their place of education, with their health being put at potential risk.
It is simply incredible that, rather than implement the very reasonable and straightforward safety procedures that are being asked for, the management of City of Glasgow College have chosen to provoke and prolong this long-running dispute and programme of strike action.”
Ms Bradley added, “It is well past time for the management of City of Glasgow college, which is a public institution after all, not a feudal estate, to listen to the very valid concerns of lecturers, and take the necessary steps to reduce the risk to staff and students undertaking welding to as low a level as reasonably possible.
"If CoGC management will not take these actions of their own accord, they must be compelled to do so by instruction from the Scottish Government.”
As the strike action continues, a major rally is set to be held on Thursday of this week, outside the City of Glasgow College campus on Cathedral Street. In a show of national trade union solidarity, speakers at the rally will include TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer, as well as EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley.
Thursday’s rally is set to take place at CoGC Cathedral Street, Glasgow, from 1200hrs – 1300 hrs. A photo opportunity will take place immediately prior to the start of the rally