The University and College Union (UCU) Scotland is opening strike action ballots for members at the universities of Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Stirling, and Strathclyde. They are also balloting for action short of a strike.
The primary cause of the ballots is the refusal of the respective universities’ principals to rule out the usage of compulsory redundancies moving forward, alongside the planning of cuts that would harm staff and student conditions.
The UCU also cites the budget cuts the universities are taking, and a lack of the necessary financial transparency to justify them.
If the strike ballots are successful, which would require a majority vote on a majority turnout, it would open the possibility of strikes in the spring term and exam season of university, when most marking of students takes place.
This comes in the context of similar strikes over threats of compulsory redundancies at the University of the Highlands and Islands, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Dundee, to differing outcomes.
At the University of the Highlands and Islands, staff took two days of strike action, ending in a promise of no compulsory redundancies within 2026, and a promise of greater cooperation with the UCU.
At the University of Edinburgh, progress was made after staff took nine days of strike action, with a promise of no compulsory redundancies until July 2026 and again greater cooperation with UCU representatives.
The unions and university principals at the four universities will be hoping to avoid a situation like that at the University of Dundee, where the dispute has lasted over a year with 25 days of strike action.
Douglas Ross MSP, the convenor of the Education, Children and Young People Committee, spoke to The Student:
“The concerns and frustrations of staff are very clear … and the Scottish Government must take note of the crisis at the University of Dundee … [because] it cannot be repeated.”
Image by Daniel Ghazi for The Student