University of Edinburgh lecturers have begun a five-week strike, with UCU members due to remain off work until 30 October. The dispute concerns £140m in cuts announced last year and compulsory redundancies; the union says the cuts could lead to 1,800 job losses.
The university announced the closure of 90 courses earlier this month. The UCU says hundreds of staff have already lost work after contracts were not renewed. It argues the university’s financial pressure is largely driven by capital investment, citing more than £1bn in capital assets acquired under Principal Sir Peter Mathieson, and says non-staff budgets should be cut instead.
Principal Sir Peter Mathieson said difficult decisions were needed to secure the university’s future and described the strike as unfairly and deliberately targeting students’ first semester. He said the university would work to minimize teaching disruption. The National Union of Students said it supported the UCU.
