UK higher Education faces an unprecedented crisis, the University and College Union (UCU) has declared, with new data compiled by the union showing over 5,000 jobs are at risk.
The UCU launched its ‘Stop the Cuts, Fund Higher Education Now’, campaign this week, calling for urgent action from the Labour government.
So far, this academic year, university employers have announced their intention to cut over 5,000 jobs (5,361), while at least five other universities have asked staff to quit, but refused to specify how much they want to cut from their staffing budget.
Alongside this, the sector has announced over £238m of cuts and declared deficits of at least £30m.
Were university bosses to plug these holes solely through axing staff, UCU fears around 5,000 more jobs could go (4,739).
Courses currently under threat include nursing at the University of Cardiff; chemistry at the University of Hull; and business and languages at Northumbria University.
In response to the threatened cuts, UCU members went on strike last week at Brunel University, are striking this week at Dundee and Newcastle universities, have won strike ballots at the University of East Anglia and Sheffield Hallam, and are being asked to vote yes to strike action in ballots at Sheffield and Durham universities.
UCU said the cuts are harming students and that the government now needs to stand behind the sector financially while it develops an alternative model of funding and regulation that protects courses and jobs.
The Welsh and Scottish governments have recently stepped in to provide tens of millions of pounds in emergency university funding.
The union also called on the government to launch a root and branch review of poor university governance structures and outrageously high vice-chancellor salaries, which average £325k.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘UK higher education is on its knees with thousands of jobs set to disappear from across the sector.
‘This will be hugely damaging to students, and some courses are already disappearing.
‘Our union is winning ballots and fighting to protect jobs and course provision for current students and future generations.
‘But the cuts university bosses are trying to force through threaten provision across the country, and with it the sector’s world-leading position.
‘Unless the UK government steps in, as the Welsh and Scottish governments have, this may just be the tip of the iceberg.
‘We need an emergency fund to protect jobs and courses in the short term.
‘Then the government must begin looking at a new public model to fund and regulate the sector.
‘For far too long, vice-chancellors have helped fuel this crisis by fighting to hoover up domestic and international students, creating a cycle of boom and bust.
‘When times were good, they failed to invest properly and now they are asking staff and students to pay the price of their mismanagement.
‘Bodies tasked with overseeing university governance have been hollowed out and are all too often asleep at the wheel, allowing vice-chancellors to act like reckless CEOs.
‘Labour should launch a root and branch review of the sector’s governing structures, while putting an end to university leaders being rewarded for failure with gigantic pay packets.’
Staff at Brunel University have begun 16 days of industrial action in defence of jobs.
The first day of strike action took place on Friday 28th February 2025, with further dates planned over six weeks.
Staff will be on picket lines from 8am to 10am each day outside the Mary Seacole Building.
The full strike dates are:
- Week 1: Friday 28th February (1 day);
- Week 2: Wednesday 12th March (1 day);
- Week 3: Tuesday 18th March and Thursday 20th March (2 days);
- Week 4: Monday 24th March, Tuesday 25th March, and Friday 28th March (3 days);
- Week 5: Tuesday 1st April, Wednesday 2nd April, Thursday 3rd April, and Friday 4th April (4 days);
- Week 6: Monday 7th April, Tuesday 8th April, Wednesday 9th April, Thursday 10th April, and Friday 11th April (5 days).
The dispute arose over management’s plans to make 423 job cuts, 282 of which are compulsory redundancies.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘Our members are striking because they refuse to pay the price for the financial failings of senior management.
‘The employer must start listening to their staff, and work with us to avoid compulsory redundancies, or deal with the consequences of this disruption on campus.
Over 1,000 members of staff at Durham University are being balloted for strike action at Durham University, over plans by management to cut £20m from the university’s staffing budget.
The ballot runs until Tuesday 1st April.
It comes as management says it intends to axe around 200 professional services jobs by the end of summer, with even more staff due to be culled next year.
Management blames the ‘extremely difficult environment’ universities are facing, but the union said that reducing staff is not the answer to any problems being faced.
UCU Durham Communications Officer Katie Muth said: ‘Staff will be voting yes to strike action because they are worried about what the job cuts will mean for anyone who has to leave the university and about the workload implications for those left behind.’
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘Durham University has the finances to protect jobs and protect student provision, so it is scandalous that staff have to ballot for strike action to force management to do the right thing.
‘The university leadership team now needs to rule out compulsory redundancies and work with us to resolve this dispute.’
The UK higher education sector is in crisis
UCU members working in universities and higher education institutions urgently need:
- an end to the broken fee-based funding model;
- introduction of measures, such as student number controls, to stop unhealthy competition;
- a governance review of higher education;
• an end to hostile environment policies that make the UK a difficult choice for international students.
The UCU has launched a massive ‘Stop the Cuts’ campaign
- UCU will put pressure on the UK government to change their current position and invest and intervene to alleviate the crisis in higher education;
- UCU will demonstrate the current dire conditions in UK universities and the consequences of government inaction;
- UCU will continue to support all branches and members in our fight to protect jobs.
Our campaign elements
• ‘Stop the Cuts’ petition;
- Rally and parliamentary lobby
- Evidence-gathering and reports;
- Programme for branches and members fighting redundancies;
• ‘Stop the Cuts’ member network;
• ‘Stop the Cuts’ week of action;
- Online and print materials.
Key dates
- Tuesday 18 March: UCU rally and parliamentary lobby;
• Monday 31 March-Friday 4 April: ‘Stop the Cuts’ week of action.
