Edinburgh University staff strike in dispute over threat of job cuts

Staff at the University of Edinburgh are set to strike over threatened job cuts amid plans to slash £140m from its annual budget.

Members of University and College Union (UCU) will be on picket lines across the university in the first of series of strikes on Friday, a scheduled Open Day for prospective students.

A rally will also be held from 11am on George Square in Edinburgh.

Staff at the university will also take strike action at the start of the new academic year in September.

The union said that cuts of £140m would amount to the biggest cuts ever made by a university in Scotland and could see up to 1,800 staff lose their jobs.

The strike follows a ballot where 84% of UCU members at the university voted to back strike action and 93% to back action short of strike. The turnout was 60%.

UCU members overwhelmingly rejected a last-minute management offer to avert the strike, with 92% voting to reject.

UCU members will also take part in action short of strike, including working to contract and boycotting administrative work relating to implementing the cuts.

The union is also considering a marking and assessment boycott as well as telling members not to use their personal devices for work.

Chiefs say they are holding out on escalating the dispute to give senior managers the opportunity to rule out compulsory redundancies.

The union said it was keen to work with senior management to try and find alternative savings to job cuts that were less detrimental to the university and the student experience.

Sophia Woodman, president of the Edinburgh University UCU branch, said: “Taking strike action is the very last thing UCU members at Edinburgh want to do but the decision of the principal to press ahead with huge cuts and the refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies has simply left us no choice.

“University staff are worried about the future and whether they’ll have a job this time next year. We are striking on Open Day to sound the alarm about the future of research and teaching at the university, because we care deeply about the quality of education we provide to our students.

“Staff are stunned to see university senior management pressing ahead with plans to spend vast sums on public relations consultants and increase spending on buildings while cutting the staff who teach students and carry out world leading research. Even at this late stage it’s not too late for the university to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies and end this dispute.”

Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said: “UCU members at Edinburgh are striking to save jobs and to guarantee the future of the university.

“Peter Mathieson has been warned often enough about the impact his cuts will have on staff, students and the university’s reputation but the refusal not to rule out compulsory redundancies means that the fault for this strike going ahead lies firmly at his door.”

A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: “Open Day is a hugely important event in our calendar, and we are delighted to be welcoming thousands of potential students to our campus.

“Visitors will get a taste of what classes might be like, see accommodation options as well as experiencing the city itself.

“While we respect colleagues’ right to take part in industrial action, we are doing our utmost to keep any disruption to a minimum and have endeavoured to keep those planning to attend well informed.”