Strike ballots open at four Scottish universities amid job cuts

Strike ballots have opened at four Scottish universities amid disputes over job losses and the possible use of compulsory redundancies.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland at Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Stirling and Strathclyde are being asked whether they are prepared to take strike action, as well as action short of a strike, including working to contract and marking and assessment boycotts.

Any vote in favour of action would follow ongoing disruption at the University of Dundee, where UCU members have been taking strike action in a long-running dispute over cuts and job losses.

Elsewhere, a dispute at the University of the Highlands and Islands was resolved before Christmas, while talks at the University of Edinburgh led to progress over proposed job cuts.

UCU said the four current disputes share a common cause, with university principals seeking to reduce costs while refusing to rule out compulsory redundancies. If members vote in favour of action, decisions on the form and timing of any industrial action will be taken locally at each institution.

At Aberdeen, the dispute centres on the university’s “Adapting for Continuing Success” programme, introduced against a backdrop of ongoing financial concerns. The union said it has not been fully consulted on the changes and raised concerns about a continued freeze on academic promotions.

More than 40 staff have recently left under a voluntary severance scheme, but management has declined to rule out compulsory redundancies. The dispute follows threatened strikes in Spring 2024 over planned job losses in modern languages, which were called off after the university withdrew proposals for compulsory redundancies.

A Stirling UCU spokesperson said “We have not seen any justification for further jobs losses at Stirling. We urge the university to revisit its financial strategy and prioritise the protection of jobs over strategic investments. 

“The university is currently restructuring faculties and professional services. There is also a Scottish Government led strategic review on funding model for Scotland’s universities about to get underway. Any compulsory redundancies in this context is premature.”

Jen Remnant, Strathclyde UCU branch chair, said: “We are in dispute because staff, who have kept University of Strathclyde going throughout pandemic and successive real cuts in pay, deserve transparency, respect, and a real say over decisions that threaten their jobs and the future of Strathclyde. 

“Instead, cuts have been imposed as a fait accompli, with staff only consulted after being told their roles are at risk. We remain open to talks, including through ACAS, but if this intransigence from management continues, we will consider all options available to us, including industrial action, to defend our jobs.”

Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, added: “We’re just days into the New Year and once again universities across Scotland are facing the possibility of industrial action, with members being forced to vote for strike action to defend jobs and force university principals to rule out compulsory redundancies.  

“With a record number of jobs being cut across Scottish universities, the principals at Stirling and Heriot-Watt and those at Strathclyde and Aberdeen, who are starting off their time as principals in the most disappointing way, need to listen to their staff and commit to ruling out compulsory redundancies before these disputes escalate into strikes with resulting disruption to students.”