New Year strike ballots at four Scottish universities

Strike ballots over job losses and the possible use of compulsory redundancies begin today (Monday) at four Scottish universities.

The strike ballots will take place at Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Stirling and Strathclyde universities where members of the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland are being asked if they are willing to take strike action.  As well as strike action, members are also being asked if they are willing to take action short of strike which can include actions such as working to contract; refusing to cover for absent colleagues or undertaking voluntary activities; and marking and assessment boycotts.

The ballots at the four universities leave open the possibility of strikes and disruption on university campuses as universities enter their busy Spring terms when much of the teaching, examination and marking of students' work takes place.  If members vote for strike action, they will join UCU members at the University of Dundee where members have been taking strike action last year in a long running dispute over cuts and job losses.  A dispute at the University of the Highlands and Islands was resolved before Christmas and significant progress was made at Edinburgh in a dispute there over job cuts.

In the event of 'yes' votes in the four separate ballots, it will then be up to members to decide what action to take and how to pursue the dispute against their employer.  The disputes share a common cause of principals seeking to make cuts and refusing to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies. 

Aberdeen university is facing cuts resulting from senior managers' 'Adapting for Continuing Success' programme amidst ongoing financial concerns at the university.  The employer is not involving UCU in the "Adapting for Continuing Success" changes and the dispute is also about the ongoing freeze on academic promotions.  Despite over 40 staff having recently retired or left employment under a voluntary severance scheme, management at the university have refused to rule out compulsory redundancies.  The dispute at Aberdeen follows planned strikes in Spring 2024 when 25 staff in modern languages faced compulsorily redundancies.  In the end strike action planned for March 2024 was called off when management withdrew the threat.  The union said that to be back in a similar position so soon showed a lack of goodwill in senior managers' negotiating.  David Clough, Aberdeen UCU branch co-chair, said: "University managers are again seeking to solve financial problems by treating staff as disposable assets. They have refused to consult with UCU and other trades unions despite our repeated demands. The outline plans they have shared would have negative effects on the experience of students and threaten the university's strength in research. UCU members are resolved to take whatever action is necessary to protect the university's teaching, research, and the jobs of academic and professional services staff."

The dispute at Heriot-Watt results from the university's 'right-sizing' exercise where senior managers are looking to cut courses and programmes and which will involve the loss of at least 41 jobs in Scotland and 10 in Malaysia.  Again, the university's senior management team is refusing to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies despite repeated requests from the union.  The university principal, who is due to leave in Autumn 2026 having cut jobs and the university's educational offer, is also putting in doubt the university's 25-year commitment to the successful Scholar programme - a leading online learning platform used in schools throughout Scotland in key subjects including maths, sciences, English and modern languages.  Kate Sang, Heriot-Watt UCU president, said "We are disappointed that the university have not committed to the protection of jobs in Scholar, jobs which are vital to the delivery of high-quality accessible education across Scotland. The university's plans to further reduce staff numbers across the teaching teams are worrying, especially given that the management has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies. The proposed changes to individual staff's research time threaten the university's reputation as a global research leader and may cause longer term harm to the university's research income and research excellence. We remain committed to working constructively with the employer."

Senior management at Stirling opened a voluntary severance scheme in summer 2025, a matter of months after the principal's salary sky-rocketed to £414,000 a year making him the highest paid university principal in the country.  Despite 175 staff having left on a voluntary basis in recent months, university senior managers are looking to make more cuts and have refused to rule out compulsory redundancies.  The union questioned the exorbitant pay of those at the top, when job security for workers was such a low priority.  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."

The dispute at Strathclyde is a result of the university claiming the need to make £35million savings and looking to cut 76 jobs, including from the National Manufacturing Institute; the Business School; Research and Knowledge Exchange, and Estates.  The union is calling for meaningful consultation with the employer over organisational change, and has expressed concerns about "protected conversations" being used to pressurise individual staff to leave employment.  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, said: "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."