WORKERS at the University of Sheffield have voted to strike against ‘drastic restructuring’ plans that put up to 1,000 jobs at risk, the University and College Union (UCU) announced on Tuesday.
The dispute centres on the university’s intention to slash staffing costs by £23 million over the next two years.
In November 2024, the Vice Chancellor announced plans to cut £9 million in staffing costs in 2025 and a further £14 million in 2026.
Relatedly, the university recently launched its ‘New Schools’ proposal, which has involved reducing the number of academic departments from 45 to 21 and restructuring Professional Services staff across all schools.
The proposals affect 796 staff and could lead to at least 50 compulsory redundancies during this academic year alone.
Four further restructures are also being carried out in key areas, including Postgraduate Research, Employability, Digital Learning, and Faculty Finance and an additional review is underway to consider the future structure of IT services.
These plans follow over 300 staff who have already exited the university under a Voluntary Severance Scheme at the end of 2024.
In the industrial action ballot, 74% of UCU members who voted, backed strike action, on a turnout of 57%.
The university’s UCU branch has said the dispute could be resolved if management commits to no compulsory redundancies and significantly scales back the proposed staffing cuts.
Staff have raised serious concerns over the pace and scale of the changes and do not believe the university has adequately justified its timeline for returning to a financial surplus.
UCU General Secretary Jo Grady said: ‘Staff at Sheffield have sent a clear message that they are willing to take industrial action to protect their jobs and the future of their university.
‘These cuts are too deep, too fast, and put vital student support and academic provision at risk.
‘Management must now step back from the brink, halt compulsory redundancies, and enter serious negotiations with us to find a better way forward.’
- Commenting on the news that planned job cuts at the University of Dundee could exceed 700 workers, Mary Senior, Scotland UCU, said on Tuesday: ‘Sacking over 700 staff at Dundee University is tantamount to academic and economic vandalism.
‘This level of job cuts would be catastrophic for the city of Dundee and the surrounding area.
‘We cannot let this destruction go ahead, the funding already announced by the Scottish government and Funding Council is a start to prevent these cuts.
‘We need to do better, to support students, education and jobs in the city.’
UCU leader Grady said: ‘Cuts on this scale being planned by university senior management will have a devastating impact not just on the university’s future, but also on the city and the local economy.
‘University senior managers need to listen to what staff are telling them, rule out compulsory redundancies and engage with the union to find a better way forward that avoids irreparable damage before it is too late.’
- Staff at all six further education colleges across Northern Ireland have voted to take industrial action for fair pay, the University and College Union (UCU) announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Belfast Metropolitan College, Northern Regional College, North West Regional College, Southern Regional College, South Eastern Regional College and South West College educate more than 63,000 students between them.
The ballot was open for three weeks and was conducted via Royal Mail with 90% voting in favour of strike action, and 98.5% voting in favour of action short of a strike (ASOS), with a 49% turnout.
The vote for action comes after the six college employers failed to protect staff from excessive workloads and the Minister for the Economy refused to honour a pay parity commitment with schoolteacher salaries.
Last year UCU members took sixteen days of strike action and continuous action short of strike after a decade of pay freeze and pay restraint saw college lecturer pay fall drastically behind schoolteachers and university lecturers.
The action was stood down after Conor Murphy, previous Minister for the Economy, authorised a pay offer of around 11.2% that contained a commitment to pay parity with schoolteachers in future pay rounds.
Within weeks of taking up office, the new Minister for the Economy, Caoimhe Archibald, reneged on the agreement. Minister Archibald has reduced the baseline budget to colleges by 7.9% and told college employers they must find £18m of efficiency savings.
The UCU Northern Ireland official, Katharine Clarke, said: ‘It is disappointing and shocking that within weeks of taking up office, Minister Archibald has ripped up a government approved pay agreement.
‘While Minister Givan has secured a pay increase for schoolteachers of 5.5%, the Economy Minister has effectively told college employers that a pay increase for lecturers must be financed via the redundancies of their colleagues.
‘Minister Archibald talks about “good jobs” and skills driving the economy, yet she is treating the biggest section of workers under her portfolio as the poor relations of the education sector, both in terms of pay, and conditions of service.
‘Our members will not accept the thin end of the wedge’.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘If the Minister does not reverse her draconian instruction to college employers and finance last year’s pay agreement, our members will take action.
‘This means there is imminent and real danger that thousands of qualifications will not be issued, and students will be unable to graduate.
‘Our members do not take such action lightly, but notices will be served if the Minister does not honour her predecessor’s commitments.’
- Staff and students at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) have overwhelmingly delivered a vote of no confidence in the university’s Vice Chancellor, Senior Management Team (SMT), and Board of Governors.
The vote, organised by the CCCU branch of the University and College Union (UCU), was passed by 359 (96%) votes to 16 (16%) following growing anger over the institution’s handling of current financial and strategic decisions.
The result comes amid an ongoing dispute between CCCU/UCU and university management regarding the failure to rule out compulsory redundancies (CRs) in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years.
Despite repeated requests from UCU, the university has refused to commit to ruling out CRs or an Enhanced Voluntary Redundancy scheme alongside the current Transformation Change Programme consultations.
The vote, which was open to all CCCU staff and students, was launched at a CCCU/UCU branch meeting on 12 March 2025 and closed at 5pm on 31 March.
It asked participants whether they had confidence in the Vice Chancellor, SMT, and Board of Governors’ ability to effectively and responsibly oversee the current financial and strategic operations of the university.
UCU has repeatedly called for meaningful engagement with staff representatives, a halt to compulsory redundancies, and a commitment to voluntary alternatives.
The union says the vote shows a clear mandate for change and a leadership willing to put the university community first.
UCU regional official, Michael Moran said: ‘This vote sends a clear and powerful message to CCCU management: staff and students have lost faith in the current leadership.
‘The refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies, the lack of transparency, and the absence of a credible alternative plan have left the university community in a state of deep uncertainty and distress. It’s time for those at the top to listen, act, and rebuild trust.’
The UCU’s Jo Grady said: ‘University leaders must be held accountable when their decisions undermine staff security and student confidence.
‘This result reflects a deep frustration with the direction of leadership at CCCU and management must urgently change course before more damage is done.’
- The UCU last week launched a formal trade dispute with Kendal College over its failure to table any pay offer whatsoever this year.
This is despite the college employer body, the Association of Colleges, making its formal pay recommendation for the 2024/25 academic year six months ago in October 2024.
The dispute was declared after an overwhelming 98% of UCU members who voted supported the move, in a ballot that saw over 50% turnout. It paves the way for a strike ballot if management refuses to resolve the dispute.
Kendal College is the lowest paying college in Cumbria and only pays £36,198 to lecturers who reach the top of the pay scale.
Whereas the nearest comparator, Furness College, pays £43,665.
The UCU’s Grady said: ‘Kendal College is already one of the lowest paying in the region, so making our members wait six months without a formal pay offer is all the more unacceptable.
‘In order for this dispute to be resolved we call on the college to table a sensible offer which can be put to our members.
‘If there is a continued unwillingness to do this, we will escalate the dispute.’
- UCU members at Brunel University in Uxbridge, West London are also striking again today and tomorrow against mass sackings.
Then next week they are striking each day, from Monday to Friday.
UCU members have voted overwhelmingly at universities and colleges across the UK in the early months of this year in favour of strike action in defence of jobs and against the mass sackings that are taking place.
It is beyond doubt that the mobilisation of the entire UCU union in national strike action is needed now to defeat this jobs massacre, along with the demand that the TUC calls a general strike to defend further and higher education across the UK.
