STAFF fighting 1,800 job cuts at the University of Edinburgh will return to the picket lines on Monday, their union UCU announced today.

Lecturers at the university took nine days of strike action last year in response to management proposals to slash £140 million from spending — the biggest cuts package in the history of Scottish higher education.

Action was paused in December after a short-term deal was struck “but members are clear that management haven’t engaged in meaningful consultation and we’ve no choice but to come back out on strike,” according to UCU Edinburgh branch president Sophia Woodman.

She said: “We need managers and the principal to engage openly and honestly with us, including negotiations on finances. 

“Unions have proposed a framework for redundancy avoidance. We are ready to return to negotiations tomorrow to find ways forward that avoid further damaging staff cuts.”

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “It is disappointing that management have gone back on the deal agreed in December.  

“Members at Edinburgh are clear that they need their employer to engage fully, get back to negotiations, and find a solution to this dispute.”

Refuting claims the university had broken the agreement, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, said: “The decision from UCU Edinburgh to take industrial action brings a premature end to the agreement we reached in December 2025.

“We will continue all legally required consultation with union representatives and will continue to uphold our commitments under the agreement, as we believe this is in the best interests of our staff.”