Edinburgh University facing more industrial action as union opens new strike ballot

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Edinburgh university are being re-balloted from today (24 September) to take industrial action as a dispute over £140 million cuts and up to 1,800 job losses approaches its eighth month.

The dispute follows the announcement of cuts by the university principal, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, in February 2025 in an email to all staff.  He announced that the university was looking to make £140 million cuts, and that cuts of that magnitude meant that "nothing is off the table" leaving open the possibility of compulsory redundancies.  The ballot will run from today until Tuesday 28 October.

UCU members at the university overwhelmingly backed industrial action in May this year with 84% of those voting backing strike action on a turnout of 60% and 93% backing action short of strike such as such as working to contract and refusing to cover for absent colleagues or undertaking voluntary duties.  Staff took a day's strike action in June this year, and the start of term two weeks ago was disrupted by five days of strikes as students returned to university.  Trade union legislation, currently being reviewed by the UK government, requires trade unions to renew mandates for industrial action every six months.

The union said that it had repeatedly called on university senior managers to rule out compulsory redundancies, arguing that if the university went ahead with job cuts of this scale - up to 1,800 jobs - it would be the largest number of redundancies ever seen in the history of Scottish higher education.  Edinburgh university is one of the wealthiest institutions in Scotland with, in their most recently published accounts, unparalleled reserves of over £3 billion.  The union argued that there is no need for cuts of this scale, and that the university was not in deficit in 2024-25.  The union also said that it remained willing to engage with the university and to try and help find alternative savings.  Despite this university senior management haven't met with the union for talks to end the dispute since before the first day's strike took place back in June. 

Questions about the dispute and whether the university's actions fit with the Scottish Government's fair work principles have been raised in the Scottish Parliament.  On 18 September, central Scotland MSP, Richard Leonard, told the then minister for higher education, Graeme Dey, that Edinburgh university is "...moving ahead with job cuts through so-called targeted voluntary redundancy.  How does the minister believe this fits with the Scottish Government's fair work principles...".  The minister called for talks and for university senior managements to engage meaningfully and to work with trade unions.

The union has repeatedly called for university senior managers to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies, but their response has been to press on with the painful reductions in staff numbers including casualised staff being hit with guaranteed-hours contracts being slashed and fixed-term and open-ended contracts not being renewed.  Last week, management announced plans for restructuring, including '"portfolio review" of courses and programmes, but prior to any consultation, has already begun closing courses and programmes, including some courses that current students have enrolled in for this academic year.  The union said that these changes will inevitably result in redundancies, and may actually reduce the university's income.  The union said that the job losses and failure to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies meant that it had no choice other than to press ahead with a re-ballot and to oppose these unnecessary cuts and job losses.

Edinburgh university UCU branch president, Sophia Woodman, said: "The staff who've already lost their jobs are sorely missed by the remaining staff who face increased, unmanageable workloads and by their former students who will suffer from a poorer student experience during their remaining years at the university.  That failure, about to be compounded by the coming cuts and up to 1,800 job losses, the biggest number of jobs lost in Scottish universities ever, lies squarely at the door of the principal and senior management.  The job cuts, and failure of the principal and the university's senior managers to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies means that we have no option other than to press ahead with this re-ballot and the likelihood of further industrial action.  Staff showed earlier this year that they were willing to vote for and take strike action to save the university, and I'm confident that, in the face of management intransigence, UCU members will again do the right thing for this university and our students "  

UCU general secretary, Jo Grady, said: "It's remarkable that, some eight months after first announcing the biggest job cuts ever seen in Scottish higher education, the university principal has been slow to meet with unions and to negotiate an end to this dispute.  It's time for Professor Mathieson, and his senior management team to take their heads out of the sand, meet with the union and rule out the use of compulsory redundancies.  The quickest way to force their hand is for UCU members to return their ballot papers and to once again deliver a resounding 'yes' vote in the re-ballot."