Wednesday March 25th 2026
Photo taken of UCU Edinburgh members at a strike rally last September
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Members of the University and College Union (UCU) Scotland at the University of Edinburgh have announced that they plan to take further strike action next week in the long running dispute over financial cuts and job loses.
The industrial action started in June of last year when university staff walked out during an open day, and has continued until now with UCU Edinburgh members taking part in a 5 day strike which included a rally back in September.
The industrial action is due to the university announcing in March 2025 that they will be making £140 million in cuts alongside cutting 1,800 jobs due to predicting a future financial deficit.
The £140 million cut includes £90 million from staff wages, which was proposed to be cut within an 18-month period, leading to potential redundancies.
Next week’s industrial action will see all UCU members at the university strike for two days on Monday 30 March and Wednesday 1 April, with some members announcing that they will strike on other days if they have teaching or administrative duties.
Alongside the strike, the union aims to host a rally at 12noon on the Wednesday at Bristo Square.
In December last year a short-term deal was struck where management agreed to guarantee there would be no compulsory redundancies to the end of July 2026 and to commit to meaningful consultation. However, members of the union at the university decided that management had breached the agreement by ‘not engaging meaningfully, including barring the union from key meetings and not sharing necessary financial information’.
With the current mandate for strike action finishing at the end of April, members of the union at the university are currently voting in a new ballot over the dispute.
UCU Edinburgh branch president, Sophia Woodman, explained:
“We thought we had a deal which would protect members until the end of April, but members are clear that management haven’t engaged in meaningful consultation and we’ve no choice but to come back out on strike.
“To resolve this dispute and the save jobs and rule out the use of compulsory redundancies in the long term, we need managers and the principal to engage openly and honestly with us, including negotiations on finances. Unions have proposed a framework for redundancy avoidance that outlines terms of meaningful engagement. We are ready to return to negotiations tomorrow to find ways forward that avoid further damaging staff cuts.”
UCU general secretary, Jo Grady, added:
“It is disappointing that management have gone back on the deal agreed in December. Members at Edinburgh are clear that they need their employer to engage fully, get back to negotiations, and find a solution to this dispute.”
Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, responded to the announcement, explaining that it ‘brings a premature end to the agreement reached in December 2025’.
He added:
“By targeting strikes during teaching, exams and graduations, our students will now be placed under more strain during an already challenging and important time. While we respect the right to protest, we will do everything we can to protect our students and staff from any disruption.
“It is disappointing that the good faith and openness we have maintained in our engagements with UCUE have not been reciprocated and that this action is being directed against our students. We will continue all legally required consultation with union representatives and will continue to uphold our commitments under the agreement, as we believe this is in the best interests of our staff.”
The University explained that it strongly refutes any suggestions that it has not upheld the terms of December’s agreement, stating on March 9 that they are doing all they can to safeguard the future of the institution.
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