Sign the petitions<\/a> against staff cuts and closures, and view our campaign posters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9 July 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “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.\u2019 (Dundee University students open up on impact of proposed cuts<\/a>)<\/em>” <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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:<\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n “ESOL lessons not only help me to learn the language better but also provide a deeper understanding of Scotland\u2019s tradition and culture.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n “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<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is about more than a team. It\u2019s about protecting a service that helps students succeed, strengthens the local community and delivers lasting value to the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 30 June 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u2013 available here<\/a>), Dundee UCU welcomes the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Government\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s publication. As a consequence, DUCU unanimously voted no confidence in the Interim Principal and Finance Director in February 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To prevent a further deterioration of the University\u2019s recovery, and to avoid any misuse of Scottish taxpayer money, Dundee UCU calls on the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Government to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scottish taxpayer money must not be used to fund redundancies, outsource essential services, or expand the University\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Warns that Millions of Public Money will be Used to Devastate Dundee University and City<\/p>\n\n\n\n 16 June 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The University of Dundee is planning to cut more than 200 jobs without any meaningful engagement with its community \u2013 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\u2019s Strategy to Recovery<\/a>, which highlights serious failures in complying with the conditions of funding. While the SNP\u2019s Education Secretary reportedly asked university leadership not to push ahead with plans today<\/a>, the Scottish Funding Council have \u2013 despite giving Dundee University millions of pounds of extra funding \u2013 failed to get the University to reconsider their flawed strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The University\u2019s Strategy to Recovery has been developed without the credible and meaningful engagement required by the SFC\u2019s own framework. DUCU\u2019s 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\u2019s evaluation shows that key documents required under the SFC\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The University\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The University\u2019s actions have also undermined trust within the institution. The union\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 grantSFC 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 78% of our members voted that they would take strike action. 88% of members voted for Action Short of a Strike (ASOS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find the petitions to save various parts of the university from cuts as well as campaign and poster materials on our webpage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\nPress release – Students and Dundee community stand to lose as University management plan to privatise English for International Students Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Press release – DUCU responds to SFC letter of 26 June 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Press release – Dundee UCU Finds University\u2019s Strategy for Recovery Lacking <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Industrial Action Renewed until June 2027<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Campaign Materials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Contribute to the Dundee UCU Fighting Fund<\/h2>\n\n\n\n