Strike Action – Starts 21 September 2026

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Dundee University will strike for 25 days over five weeks at the start of the new academic year in a long running dispute over cuts and job losses including compulsory redundancies.

Staff at the university will be on strike each weekday from Monday 21 September through to Friday 23 October, meaning the strike will last for the first five weeks of the new term.  As well as taking strike action, staff will also be taking part in action short of strike which will include action such as not covering for colleagues or undertaking voluntary activities. 

The schedule and activities during the strike can be found here.

Industrial Action Renewed until June 2027

On 9 June 2026, Dundee UCU secured a successful mandate for strike action and Action Short of a Strike (ASOS) for the next 12 months. Our UCU Scotland Official informed the University of Dundee the same day.

78% of our members voted that they would take strike action. 88% of members voted for Action Short of a Strike (ASOS).

5 weeks of strike action start in September

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Dundee University will strike for 25 days over five weeks at the start of the new academic year in a long running dispute over cuts and job losses including compulsory redundancies.

Staff at the university will be on strike each weekday from Monday 21 September through to Friday 23 October, meaning the strike will last for the first five weeks of the new term.  As well as taking strike action, staff will also be taking part in action short of strike which will include action such as not covering for colleagues or undertaking voluntary activities. 

The dispute began back in November 2024 when the then university principal announced an unforeseen deficit of £30million and the possibility of compulsory redundancies.  Since then 815 jobs have been lost but, despite the largest reduction in head count at any Scottish university in recent history, senior management announced in June this year further plans to cut another 200 jobs.  These additional job cuts have been criticised by the Scottish Government over the lack of engagement with staff and trade unions citing the stress and uncertainty the announcement has caused.

As well as the planned strike action, UCU members will also be lobbying court – the governing body of the university – from 12.30pm today (Thursday) outside the Bonar Hall* on the university campus.  Staff will be lobbying court members over university management’s plans to cut jobs and calling for senior management to rule out using compulsory redundancies. 

Ian Ellis, co-president of the Dundee University UCU branch, said: “Five weeks of strikes at the start of the new term will have a real impact for the students starting their studies here.  Absolutely no-one wants to take strike action, and the impact on students is hugely regretful but the fact is that another 200 staff members facing redundancy, on top of the over 800 who have already gone, will have a bigger impact on the university and on our students and their education than anything else imaginable.  The deficit that started this catalogue of failure was the fault of the university executive and court, and the inability to find a solution to this crisis that doesn’t wholly impact on staff, who have done absolutely nothing wrong, simply signifies yet another failure of management. Government ministers are right to call out the lack of engagement with trade unions and staff.  We want to be part of the solution to this crisis, but willingness to open and genuine engagement is a prerequisite for that.”

Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said: “When the ballot for strike action was last renewed, almost 80% of members backed the action.  Staff have shown time after time that they’re prepared to defend jobs.  The Scottish Government has rightly been critical of the lack of engagement from the university.  Senior management at Dundee need to listen to their staff and students, and find a solution to this crisis that saves jobs and guarantees the university’s future.”

78% of our members voted that they would take strike action. 88% of members voted for Action Short of a Strike (ASOS).

Support the public campaign to stop redundancies and closures at the University of Dundee

Sign the petitions against staff cuts and closures, and view our campaign posters.

Press release – Students and Dundee community stand to lose as University management plan to privatise English for International Students Team

9 July 2026

Students are deeply concerned by proposals to privatise the English for International Students activities, which support students from before they arrive at university through to postgraduate and PhD study. EIS helps students develop the language and academic skills they need to succeed throughout their academic journey.  The proposed changes would remove a long-established source of specialist academic English language support for students and transfer parts of this work to a private provider. 

“For many international students like me, the EIS team is not just a support service; it is the reason we feel we belong here. Their work quietly but powerfully shapes our confidence, our wellbeing and our ability to succeed. Behind every service are real students whose experiences depend on them.’ (Dundee University students open up on impact of proposed cuts)” 

The proposed dissolution of EIS is not simply a restructuring exercise. It represents a significant step towards the privatisation of higher education services. Under the current proposals, pre-entry English provision would be transferred to a private provider. Dundee UCU is concerned that discussions with an external provider are already taking place and being finalised despite claims that no final decision has been made.

These plans run counter to the university’s commitments to fair work and redundancy avoidance. They also risk the loss of specialist expertise built up over many years. Years of public investment have helped create a successful, professionally accredited in-house service that contributes significantly to student retention, attainment and progression. Replacing that expertise with outsourced provision risks squandering that investment rather than building upon it.

The impact would extend beyond the university. EIS serves the wider community through the ESOL programme which helps people from diverse backgrounds access education, employment and social opportunities. ESOL students themselves are vocal supporters of EIS:

 “ESOL lessons not only help me to learn the language better but also provide a deeper understanding of Scotland’s tradition and culture.“

“The ESOL class is not just a language course. The classes give us the tools to thrive, communicate effectively, and contribute to local society. I strongly encourage the university management to reconsider any proposals for redundancies and instead invest in preserving this indispensable service.”

Dundee UCU is calling on the Scottish Government to halt these plans and for the University to honour its commitments to fair work and redundancy avoidance.  The University needs to a work with staff and students to protect student services, which are central to student success and community engagement.

This is about more than a team. It’s about protecting a service that helps students succeed, strengthens the local community and delivers lasting value to the university.

Press release – DUCU responds to SFC letter of 26 June 2026

30 June 2026

In light of the publication of the letter from the Scottish Funding Council dated 26 June 2026 to the Chair of Court of the University of Dundee (on the SFC website – available here), Dundee UCU welcomes the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Government’s intention to address the ongoing and serious failings of governance at the University of Dundee, including but not limited to the adherence to the Conditions of Funding under Section 25 of the Further and Higher Education Act 2005.

Dundee UCU repeatedly raised concerns and evidenced the serious failures in decision-making, financial oversight, transparency, accountability, and the credibility of the University’s recovery process in the last twelve months. In June 2025, the Gillies Report highlighted how failures in leadership, governance, and financial management threatened the survival of the institution. In our view, these problems have significantly worsened since the report’s publication. As a consequence, DUCU unanimously voted no confidence in the Interim Principal and Finance Director in February 2026.

While we believe that a serious and structured intervention by the Scottish Funding Council could improve trust and working relationships, DUCU fails to understand how acts of co-creation of services and policies, development of a shared framework of values, and open engagement can happen within the legal constraints of a collective consultation on hundreds of redundancies. In accordance with the Conditions of Funding, these actions should have informed the Strategy to Recovery, rather than being an afterthought. The shape and future of the University has been, once again, decided behind closed doors by a limited number of individuals, while staff and students are being forced through a top-down, highly orchestrated process, where governance structures are bent to the will of senior management.

To prevent a further deterioration of the University’s recovery, and to avoid any misuse of Scottish taxpayer money, Dundee UCU calls on the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Government to:

• Institute a forensic audit of the University’s finance systems and finances to ensure that financial decision-making is transparent and credible,

• Ensure full publication of key financial information, accounts, recovery planning assumptions, and governance decisions, subject to legal requirements,

• Initiate a comprehensive review of University governance structures and their functioning so that the structures are genuinely accountable to staff, students, and the wider university community.

• Undertake a judicial review of the processes followed to instigate the restructuring of the University and the current proposal of course and services reduction or closure.

• Initiate a financial and procedural review, including procurement processes, of the University’s plans to outsource core services.

Scottish taxpayer money must not be used to fund redundancies, outsource essential services, or expand the University’s investment in foreign ventures while divesting from local provision, whether directly or by stealth. This approach will have severe negative implications on the economy of the city of Dundee and the Tayside region, as well as destroying the livelihoods of hundreds of staff and reducing opportunities for future students.

The University community and the city of Dundee deserve leadership that is cognisant of its impact on the people, economy, and culture of the city. Dundee UCU calls for a University leadership that is accountable, transparent, and willing to work in partnership with staff, students and campus unions to develop a financially robust Strategy to Recovery that delivers for the University and the city.

Press release – Dundee UCU Finds University’s Strategy for Recovery Lacking

Warns that Millions of Public Money will be Used to Devastate Dundee University and City

16 June 2026

The University of Dundee is planning to cut more than 200 jobs without any meaningful engagement with its community – meaning it has not met the conditions of its funding from the Scottish Funding Council. Dundee University and College Union (DUCU) have released a detailed evaluation of the University of Dundee’s Strategy to Recovery, which highlights serious failures in complying with the conditions of funding. While the SNP’s Education Secretary reportedly asked university leadership not to push ahead with plans today, the Scottish Funding Council have – despite giving Dundee University millions of pounds of extra funding – failed to get the University to reconsider their flawed strategy.  

The University’s Strategy to Recovery has been developed without the credible and meaningful engagement required by the SFC’s own framework. DUCU’s analysis confirms that staff and students were not involved in shaping the Strategy to Recovery, workforce plan, academic operating model, or longer-term strategy. The union’s evaluation shows that key documents required under the SFC’s Conditions of Grant have not been shared with staff or campus unions, making independent evaluation impossible and raising serious concerns about transparency, governance, and accountability. 

The University’s financial recovery plans are not evidence-based. Nearly 1000 jobs are expected to be lost through voluntary severance, recruitment freezes, and planned redundancies over an 18-month period, but University leadership have failed to show that these measures will let the University achieve its financial or other goals. 

The University’s actions have also undermined trust within the institution. The union’s evaluation highlights concerns over management restructuring, the creation of new senior leadership positions during a period of significant job losses, and the impact of staffing reductions on academic administration, examination processes, and support for income-generating activities. 

The union is calling for the cuts at Dundee University to be paused until the Scottish Funding Council and Dundee University can demonstrate that the conditions of SFC funding have been met. This could involve commissioning an independent expert review, as provided for under the conditions of the grant SFC and Scottish Government need to insist that Dundee University does additional work to meet the conditions of the SFC funding, and of good employment and Higher Education practice more broadly. If SFC and Scottish Government allow these cuts to proceed without additional independent scrutiny, they will be allowing tens of millions of pounds of public money to be used to impose devastating cuts on Dundee University and the wider city. Now is the last chance for the Scottish Government to act to ensure that conditions are being followed.  

Alternative Proposals to UEG’s Recovery Plan

Dundee UCU has published Alternative Proposals to UEG’s Recovery Plan on 18 May 2026. In it we argue that the loss of >700 staff through Voluntary Severance (VS) and attrition, as well as the SFC funding and drastic saving measures, have put us back on the path to recovery. The University is already generating a surplus that is set to increase in the following years, as staff cost savings from the first and second VS scheme are fully realised. Student recruitment for the next academic year looks promising and seems to exceed expectations, adding to a positive financial outlook. Critically, we reject the alternative narrative that the University needs to cut further staff through compulsory redundancies to achieve unrealistic and sector-busting financial targets (10% EBITDA). These cuts would risk causing significant long-term harm to the Institution and may materially impair its ability to recover and fulfil its charitable mission. Members of Court of the University of Dundee are encouraged to ensure that any proposed staff reductions are subject to thorough scrutiny of the underlying financial information, assumptions, and forecasts before approval. Decisions taken without appropriate diligence may expose those involved to significant governance, reputational, and financial accountability, should such measures contribute to a deterioration of the institution’s viability. You can read this plan in its entirety here.

Finance Paper
Dundee UCU has published a Finance Position Paper which analyses the financial forecasts produced by the UoD Finance team in October 2025 and February 2026, challenges the reliability of the data and assumptions they were based upon, and presents an alternative financial forecasting model that shows that the University of Dundee is already on its way to recovery and further staff reductions are completely unjustified. You can read this paper here.

UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE UNION (UCU) SCOTLAND

PRESS RELEASE

Monday 26 May 2025

University of Dundee compulsory redundancy plans result in new wave of strikes

University and College Union (UCU) members at the University of Dundee today (Monday 26th May) begin a further five days* of strike action over threatened job losses and staff facing compulsory redundancy.

The strike action is in response to the University’s failure to comply with the Scottish Government’s resolve that compulsory redundancy should be avoided when providing £22m of emergency funding. Compulsory redundancy is still being pursed in both the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS) and the Educational Assistive Technology unit (EduAT) team at the university.

The first minister has stated on the record that the Leverhulme Centre is’ fundamental to the future of Dundee University’ while the EduAT team is transforming the education of disabled students in the UK and beyond.

Ian Ellis co-president of DUCU said “It is baffling why the Leverhulme centre or EduAT team remains at risk. DUCU is committed to playing a positive role in ensuring a sustainable future for the university, but the use of compulsory redundancies was unacceptable.”

“The announcement at the end of April that, instead of up to 700 jobs being cut, the University is looking to lose 300 staff via a voluntary severance scheme was welcome.   However, the threat of compulsory redundancies is still looming over staff at the end of the voluntary severance scheme and there are staff at the University that are currently facing redundancy in the Leverhulme centre and EduAT.   We call on the employer to abide by the Scottish Government’s call to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies, and to commit to making any savings through voluntary methods.”

The strike follows 15 days of strikes in February and March.  Since then, university senior management, in the face of continued industrial action and criticism from the Scottish Government and local politicians, backtracked on their original plans to cut 700 jobs.  Management initially accepted Scottish Government advice, announcing a reduced figure of 300 job losses through a voluntary redundancy process.

Union members were then shocked that staff were still facing compulsory redundancy in both the Leverhulme centre and EduAT.

DUCU said:

“The employer has refused to abide by calls from the Scottish Government, and given jobs are on the line our members felt they had no choice but to embark upon further industrial action.  That’s why members will be taking strike action for five days.  UCU wants to work for a sustainable future for the university, for students, staff and the city of Dundee, but our members must take a stand against compulsory redundancies”.

Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said: “Some seven months after first announcing that management failures had led to an unforeseen deficit, the fact that staff are still facing an uncertain future with management still unwilling to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies shows the ongoing crisis in the university’s leadership and governance.  The intervention of Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council is welcome and essential, but as well as dealing with the immediate crisis at Dundee, we also need to see wholescale revision of governance arrangements at universities to ensure this never happens again.”