Edinburgh Uni staff strike over £140m cuts

The University and College Union (UCU) members at the University of Edinburgh have gone on strike over a major cut to its budget. It is the first in a series of strikes over senior management's plans to cut £140m from its annual budget, as well as its refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies. The union estimates that the cuts could see 1,800 staff lose their jobs. The strike follows a ballot where 84% of UCU members at the university voted to back strike action, with 93% backing action short of strike, with the turnout at 60%. UCU members “overwhelmingly” rejected a last-minute management offer to avert the strike as “too little, too late”, with 92% voting to reject. Members said they 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. The UCU said that cuts of £140m would amount to the biggest cuts ever made by a university in Scotland, and that university senior managers “hadn't made the case of why they were pursuing cuts of this magnitude while, at the same time, planning record capital expenditure”. The union added that there were other areas where the university could make savings that didn't involve cutting staff numbers and damaging the teaching and research which are central to the university's mission. 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.” She added: "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." Edinburgh University has been contacted for comment.