Staff at four prominent Scottish universities – Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, Stirling, and Glasgow’s University of Strathclyde – are currently being balloted for potential strike action. The disputes centre on proposed budget cuts and job losses, reflecting a growing financial strain across the higher education sector in Scotland. Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are voting on both full strike action and action short of a strike, which could include marking boycotts and refusing to cover absent colleagues.
The industrial unrest underscores the “stark” financial climate facing Scottish universities. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has projected a collective £12.9 million deficit for the sector in 2025-26, a significant downturn from the £51.5 million surplus anticipated for 2024-25. This challenging outlook is primarily attributed to stagnant tuition fees for domestic students, reduced operating and investment income, and escalating staff costs driven by pay inflation. While international student fees remain a critical revenue stream, their volatility due to competitive global markets and shifting UK visa policies presents considerable risk.
At the University of Strathclyde, the focus of local student concern, plans are in motion to eliminate 76 jobs as part of a broader initiative to achieve £35 million in savings over the next two years. The university has indicated it is implementing £20 million in planned savings this year, followed by an additional £15 million next year, utilising measures such as income generation, retirements, and vacancy management to mitigate the impact. A Strathclyde spokesperson affirmed the university is “proactively reshaping its finances to ensure we continue to deliver excellent teaching, research and innovation.”
Similar situations are unfolding elsewhere. The University of Aberdeen’s “Adapting for Continued Success” programme has already seen 40 voluntary departures, yet management has not ruled out compulsory redundancies, drawing criticism from the UCU over a perceived lack of consultation.
Heriot-Watt University is pursuing a “right-sizing” exercise, targeting at least 41 job cuts in Scotland and 10 at its Malaysia campus, with compulsory redundancies also remaining an option.
The University of Stirling has seen 175 staff leave voluntarily, but further cuts are anticipated. The union has highlighted the contrast with Principal Gerry McCormac’s salary, which rose to £414,000 in January 2025, making him the highest-paid principal in Scotland.
The UCU has condemned the refusal by all four institutions’ senior management to definitively rule out compulsory redundancies. UCU General Secretary Jo Grady stated:
“We’re just days into the New Year and once again universities across Scotland are facing the possibility of industrial action, with members being forced to vote for strike action to defend jobs and force university principals to rule out compulsory redundancies.”
Grady added that with “a record number of jobs being cut across Scottish universities,” principals “need to listen to their staff and commit to ruling out compulsory redundancies before these disputes escalate into strikes with resulting disruption to students.”
Students are bracing for the potential impact. Callum Mitchell, a third-year politics student at Strathclyde, expressed concern to The Tab Glasgow:
“It’s worrying to see lecturers and staff being pushed to this point. We’re already feeling the effects of staff shortages, and cuts like this are only going to damage the quality of teaching and support students get.”
This sentiment echoes wider student anxieties, with Ana Sheffield, a University of Glasgow student, noting: “Even if our uni isn’t balloting right now, it feels like the whole sector is on a knife edge.”
The Scottish Government has acknowledged the pressures but stressed the autonomy of universities. A spokesperson stated that compulsory redundancies should be used “as a last resort” and called for universities to “engage constructively with trade unions to seek resolution to local disputes, in line with Fair Work principles.”
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This current wave of ballots follows previous industrial action at institutions such as the Universities of Dundee and Edinburgh, where disputes over job cuts have recently been prominent.
The ballots at Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt, and Stirling are set to close on 16th and 17th February, respectively, with Strathclyde’s concluding on 9th February, potentially leading to further widespread disruption.
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