A FIVE-DAY strike is under way at the University of Edinburgh from today as University and College Union (UCU) members fight management plans to cut £140 million from its budget and axe up to 1,800 jobs.

The dispute was sparked in February when university principal Professor Sir Peter Mathieson announced the biggest cuts in the history of Scottish education and the need for “a smaller staff base and lower operating costs” on the basis of a forecasted deficit in 18 months.

The UCU argues that the establishment continues to buck the trend in the sector by not running a deficit, and remains Britain’s third-richest behind Oxford and Cambridge.

Now, the university’s “welcome week” to new students will be one of strike action, with pickets around the campus and a rally in Edinburgh’s George Square at noon on Monday.

UCU branch president Sophia Woodman said: “Students arriving this week on campus and starting their university journey should be able to be confident that they’ll complete their studies in a university that retains its current reputation for excellence and that offers students the courses they signed up for, as well as the support they need to do well in their studies. 

“It’s impossible, though, to cut 1,800 staff from any university without seriously impacting the teaching, research and student experience and damaging the university’s reputation.

“Staff are striking because they have no choice but to take this week’s action to force senior management to re-engage, to rule out the use of compulsory redundancies and to end this dispute.”

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Edinburgh university is a wealthy institution, with large reserves. Instead of pressing on with cuts and job losses, Peter Mathieson needs to listen to staff at the university, engage with the union and commit to ruling out the use of compulsory redundancies.  

“Anything else is academic vandalism on an unprecedented scale.”

Prof Mathieson commented: “The higher education sector across the UK is facing serious and urgent financial challenges, placing its long-term stability under threat.

“We have been transparent about the impact of these pressures on Edinburgh. We continue to engage regularly with the joint trade unions, staff and our students, and remain firmly committed to ongoing dialogue as we take the necessary steps to safeguard the future of our university.”