Thousands of University of Edinburgh staff begin five weeks of strike action

Around 3,000 staff at the University of Edinburgh have begun five weeks of strike action in a dispute over £140 million in cuts and compulsory redundancies.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) began the action on Monday, which is scheduled to continue until October 30. The strike comes as 90 programmes at the institution are due to close, following the university’s announcement two years ago that it would make £140 million in cuts alongside compulsory redundancies.

UCU says 1,800 jobs could be cut in total. The union has called for no compulsory redundancies, an end to cuts affecting fixed-term hourly paid staff, a revision of the university’s surplus target, and greater emphasis on savings in capital expenditure rather than staff costs.

Cecile Menard, co-president of the UCU’s Edinburgh branch, said the strike was the result of senior management’s failure to address staff concerns. She said staff wanted to welcome students and continue teaching, research and support services, but that redundancies and workload pressures had made this impossible.

Ms Menard also said management had already pushed through hundreds of “hidden redundancies” and that some classes had doubled in size over the past two years. She said the union was striking to prevent further job losses and to protect the university’s educational purpose and responsibilities to students.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said staff had previously taken strike action and participated in a marking and assessment boycott, but that university management had still refused to rule out compulsory redundancies. She said the university had reserves of more than £3 billion and urged ministers to use their influence to press universities to prioritise staff and students.

University principal Professor Sir Peter Mathieson said the institution was “extremely disappointed” by the five-week strike, which he said would target students’ first semester. He said the university would work to reduce the impact on students and remained committed to engagement with its unions.

Professor Mathieson said using reserves to fund day-to-day spending would not provide a reliable long-term solution. He said the university needed a sustainable model that would allow it to continue educating students and advancing research and innovation.

He said decisions about the university’s future academic offering had followed reviews based on student demand, labour-market changes and other external factors, as well as data and advice from academics and experts.