Edinburgh University staff begin five-day strike

University of Edinburgh staff have begun a five-day strike in a dispute over proposed £140m budget cuts.

It follows a one-day walkout in June.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are expected to be on picket lines at various sites around the university every day until Friday. A rally is also due to be held in the city’s George Square later.

The university said it had always been “transparent” about the financial difficulties it faced and was committed to ongoing dialogue with its staff.

The union said its members had “no choice” but to take industrial action following the university’s refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies as part of its savings bid, with as many as 1,800 jobs understood to be at risk.

It also disputed the need for the cuts, which it said are the “largest ever seen” in the history of Scottish higher education, due to the university not being in deficit.

The union added the university was “one of the richest in the country”, and said it could cut back on capital expenditure and building work, or draw on its “large reserves”, instead of cutting staff.

In February, university principal Professor Sir Peter Mathieson said it needed to achieve “a smaller staff base and lower operating costs” within 18 months due to a forecast operating deficit.

The walk-out coincides with the university’s “welcome week”, when new students arrive on campus for the first time.

Sophia Woodman, UCU branch president, said: “Students arriving this week on campus and starting their university journey should be able to be confident that they will complete their studies in a university that retains its current reputation for excellence and that offers students the courses they signed up for, as well as the support they need to do well in their studies.

“It’s impossible, though, to cut 1,800 staff from any university without seriously impacting the teaching, research and student experience and damaging the university’s reputation.”

Action short of a strike, such as working to contract, not volunteering for duties and not covering absent colleagues, has also been ongoing since the one-day strike on 20 June.

The university announced last week that it had launched a new voluntary redundancy scheme for staff in senior grades, along with an “enhanced” retirement scheme for employees.

In April, it was announced that “around 350” staff had opted to take voluntary redundancy under an earlier scheme.

Prof Sir Peter Mathieson, the university’s principal and vice chancellor, said: “The higher education sector across the UK is facing serious and urgent financial challenges, placing its long-term stability under threat.

“We have been transparent about the impact of these pressures on Edinburgh and the steps we are taking to proactively maintain our position as a world-leading university.

“We respect colleagues’ right to take part in industrial action and will do everything we can to minimise any disruption to our students and planned welcome week activities.

“We continue to engage regularly with the joint trade unions, staff and our students, and remain firmly committed to ongoing dialogue as we take the necessary steps to safeguard the future of our university.”