Strike ACTION will disrupt teaching and support services if carried out on Wednesday.

The planned walkout is a response to reforms to public sector pensions and, short of a last-minute deal, will take place on Wednesday November 30.

Under the proposed changes, pension contributions would rise from 6.4 per cent to 9.6 per cent of pay.

In an email to all University of Edinburgh students, University Secretary Kim Waldron said, “the University cannot predict the extent of this action at Edinburgh, nor the disruption it might cause, but will do all it reasonably can to minimise such disruption to academic and support activities.

“Heads of schools and directors of teaching organisations have been asked to make arrangements to ensure that students are advised of any disruption to teaching, especially cancellation of classes. Unfortunately, such notification may only be possible at short notice.

“Students should assume that all teaching will take place as normal on 30 November, unless they are notified to the contrary.”

The Scottish Trade Union Congress has accused the coalition of “attacking pensions”.

It said, “The Tory led coalition wants to make millions of people pay more, is threatening to make them work longer - and wants everyone to get a lot less at the end of it.

“It’s wrong to make workers in public services suffer to pay for bailing out the banks … the Tory led coalition is attacking pensions and the Scottish Government is doing little to stand in its way.”

Similarly, the Education Institute of Scotland (EIS), Scotland’s biggest education trade union, reported that 82.2 per cent of its members voted in support for industrial action, with turnout at 54.2 per cent.

The decision to strike follows intense debate south of the border, with government officials warning that any industrial action may result in a restriction of unions’ ability to strike in the future.

Education Secretary Michael Gove maintains that the proposed changes to public pensions are fair, insisting, "the important thing the unions need to recognise is that there is not an additional pot of gold we are hiding from them."

There have also been clashes over the validity of the proposed strike action, with questions being raised over its support base among union members.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude dismissed support for industrial action as “extremely limited”, insisting, “the biggest unions achieved turnout in these strike ballots of between a quarter and a third. It’s a very, very low turnout indeed.”

Unison General Secretary Dave Prentis insisted that his union’s 78 per cent support for strike action was “a massive vote by any standard”, despite having a turnout of just 29 per cent.