THE University and College Union (UCU) for Edinburgh has responded to threatened cuts from the university who say they are in “severe financial difficulty”.
University of Edinburgh (UoE) principal Peter Mathieson emailed this week, saying that there are “external circumstances beyond our control” that have resulted in a significant financial gap.
The UCU, who recently voted that they had no confidence in the principal and senior management, are asking for the institution to look within its reserves for funding rather than compulsory redundancies.
They state that they are in consultation with members over industrial action, which follows 15 days of strikes at the University of Dundee over similar job cuts.
This week, Mathieson emailed staff saying that a lack of international students has contributed to a significant financial gap, which “university-wide actions which will also result in a smaller staff base” would remedy.
Though staff were already offered voluntary severance, the cut-off for which is tomorrow, this means that compulsory redundancies could be looming, as it was previously stated that “nothing is off the table”.
The UCU has said that “the level of cuts at Edinburgh were off the scale and questioned the actions of management in getting the university into a position where it was looking for cuts of this magnitude”.
They previously examined the university’s latest annual report that showed that UoE income was increasing and staff costs decreasing in the financial year 2023-24.
The UCU also states that the university’s accounts show net assets of £3.1bn, reserves of which should be considered before choosing to cut staff.
Recently, the Welsh higher education minister, Vikki Howells, called for universities in Wales to look at using their reserves to prevent job losses, an approach which the union is encouraging Scottish universities to take.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “The University of Edinburgh is one of the oldest and richest institutions in Scotland with endowments stretching back through the centuries, so management’s threat to make cuts of this size is shocking.
“Professor Mathieson needs to use the billions of pounds the university boasts in wealth to protect jobs, protect provision and protect the university’s global reputation.
“The Scottish Government also needs to call on university management to halt these devastating cuts. Scotland cannot afford to allow one of its great public institutions to engage in academic vandalism of this scale.”
Sophia Woodman, president of the UCU Edinburgh Branch Committee said today: “We are consulting our members on industrial action and have initiated a local dispute to oppose compulsory redundancies, so industrial action is on the horizon at the University of Edinburgh (UoE).
“It is just not correct to say that UoE has a ‘budget hole’ of £140m.
“UoE is still in surplus, and is imposing cuts to continue to be so and prevent a deficit in the future.
“The unions have repeatedly asked to see the modelling and projections for this, but these have not been shared so far.”
A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said today: “We appreciate – and share – many of the concerns raised by colleagues, students and others in our community. We know how much Edinburgh means to so many.
“However, we have been very clear that the current financial position we are in is not sustainable for the future, and we have been and will continue liaising with our joint trade unions throughout this process.
“The actions we must take now – which include focusing on reduction of both staff and non-staff operating costs – will ensure that we sustain our position as a world-leading university, delivering benefit to society, and emerge stronger as we confront the financial challenges of the sector.”
