Students are being urged to plan ahead as a series of train strikes are set to clash with graduation ceremonies at Dundee and St Andrews universities.
Rail union RMT has announced three days of strike action later this month as part of a pay dispute.
Workers are set to walk out on June 21, 23 and 25 – affecting services across the UK.
While operators including ScotRail and LNER are yet to confirm how many trains will be running on those days, the firms have already warned the level of service will be limited.
It comes as thousands of students and their families are set to attend ceremonies in both Dundee and St Andrews on the affected days.
These will be the first in-person summer graduations since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some ceremonies were held in-person during the winter.
Which graduation ceremonies will be affected by the strike?
Dundee University
Dundee’s biggest university is hosting graduation ceremonies from June 22 to 24 for all 2022 students.
The rail strike action will fall on the Thursday (June 23) of those celebrations.
University chiefs say they will be contacting students and encouraging them to make plans.
A spokesperson said: “If the transport strikes announced by RMT go ahead they will coincide with one of our graduation days, June 23, although clearly there is the potential for travel disruption throughout that week.
“We will advise graduands and their families to be aware of potential travel issues and to plan accordingly.”
Dimitris Vidakis, president of Dundee University Students’ Union, says the organisation will be working with students and their families to make them aware of the strike.
Ceremonies for students who were unable to graduate in person in 2020 and 2021 will be held in late June and early July.
St Andrews University
The Fife town is hosting three lots of graduation ceremonies for those who have received qualifications in the last two years.
Between June 22 and 24, events will be held for those who had been due to graduate in 2020 – and these ceremonies will also be impacted by the strike action.
The Courier has contacted St Andrews University for comment.
Why is strike action taking place?
RMT members have voted for strike action after failing to agree a pay settlement with rail operators.
It is the biggest dispute on the network since 1989 and follows weeks of talks.
It comes as ScotRail has already cut hundreds of services from its timetable in a separate row with train drivers through the Aslef union.
- Look out for The Courier’s coverage of graduation ceremonies at Dundee, St Andrews and Abertay universities in the coming weeks.
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