Eva Milne, The Jute Journal Lead & Lifestyle Editor.
25.02.2025
University staff rallied outside the Tower Building as strike action began in response to the University Executive Group’s (UEG) lack of transparency and accountability amid the financial crisis and an announced £30 million deficit.
Striking staff aim to prevent potentially massive job cuts that they say would significantly impact the university. If job cuts proceed, staff workloads will become unmanageable, and the student experience will suffer.
Strike action was announced on Feb. 11 after the Dundee branch of the University and College Union (DUCU) voted overwhelmingly for industrial action at the end of January. The strike follows a series of UEG resignations, cuts to essential student resources, and numerous staff redundancies.
Iain Gillespie, former principal and vice chancellor, resigned in November. In an all-staff email before his resignation, Gillespie emphasized that job cuts were inevitable. Staff reductions are central to the UEG’s recovery approach, but the group has not explained the sudden financial crisis. According to the DUCU’s “Save the University of Dundee” position paper, published Dec. 11, there was no evidence of a financial crisis in the university’s most recent published financial statement.
The DUCU has called on the University Court to; withdraw the threats of compulsory redundancies, fully disclose the financial information underpinning the university’s financial position, engage in genuine democratic consultation, and immediately implement new governance structures for democratic decision-making and transparency within the university.
As February nears its end, staff and students are still left in the dark. Striking staff expressed disappointment over the UEG’s lack of a recovery plan and its failure to consult with the union over the past three months.
DUCU Co-President and senior life sciences lecturer Mellissa D’Ascenzio said:
“Institutions like the university, which is a charity, should be held to public sector standards, and compulsory redundancies should be the absolute last resort.”
The Leverhulme Forensic Science Centre has been identified for potential closure amid the crisis. However, D’Ascenzio said the director has communicated that the centre was offered external funding. “The compulsory redundancies are not actually compulsory, as they are in discussion to receive external funding, yet redundancy notices continue to be issued, and we are given a partial depiction of the situation,” she said.
Last week, in an email to students, Professor Shane O’Neill said the strike action was “premature, as it is happening before, we have presented a recovery plan.” However, strikers argue that the UEG’s strategy of potential compulsory redundancies and lack of transparency justifies industrial action.
Senior politics lecturer Dejan Stepnovic said: “I think it's very timely. If anything, we are late because already staff have lost their jobs or are in the process of losing their jobs, prior to the plan being published.”
Striking staff are frustrated by the lack of consultation and discussion between the UEG and employees. Stepnovic continued: “There's not only the outcome, but it's the process that matters. The process of reaching an agreement, with involvement from all sides, is as important as the outcome.”
The financial crisis affects students as much as staff. Senior DJCAD lecturer Gair Dunlop said:
“Staff and students have common interests. We both want a better university because our teaching conditions are your learning conditions.”
There will be teaching disruptions over the next three weeks as the strikes continue. A recovery plan has yet to be released, and its details remain unknown. The UEG has previously stated that job cuts across the university are likely.
In a statement released Jan. 31, O’Neill said: “An independent investigation, led by an external agent, will be undertaken into how we arrived in this position of financial crisis.” It is unclear when the conclusions of the investigation will be released.
Note: Hannah Hamilton and Molly Wilson contributed to the reporting and research for this article.
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