Glasgow Caledonian University staff begin nine days of strike action over job cuts

Staff at Glasgow Caledonian University have begun another nine days of strike action in a long-running dispute over job cuts.

University and College Union (UCU) members will walk out on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before taking action for a further six days in November.

The union has warned that most of the first term for students has been disrupted by the strike, blaming senior management’s failure to engage with the unions.

The cuts, according to Unite the Union, are in response to a £33m drop in income over the last two years, which the union said is due to a decline in the number of international students at the university.

Up to 40 roles are at risk, with reductions achieved through measures including vacancy reduction and a voluntary redundancy programme.

Earlier this month, all four trade unions at the university walked out together for the first time in the institution’s three decades as a university. 

UCU has challenged the financial justification for compulsory redundancies, pointing to a £7.1m improvement in the university’s financial position, from a projected £1.5m deficit in March to a reported £5.6m surplus for 2025/26.  

Karen Lorimer, GCU UCU branch president, said: “By the end of this action, UCU members at GCU will have been on strike for 20 days, in a dispute which doesn’t need to happen and is driven wholly by management’s intransigence. 

“The support we have had from students and the student association has been inspiring, but we shouldn’t be in this position of having to take strike action and students missing teaching and learning.  

“On October 15, every union at the university was out on strike, which was unprecedented in GCU history.

“Rather than recognising the seriousness of that moment and engaging meaningfully with the unions, the principal was overseas while hundreds of staff were demonstrating their opposition to compulsory redundancies.

“UCU has raised serious concerns about the impact of the prolonged redundancy process on staff wellbeing, including the treatment of colleagues on maternity leave and disabled staff, and the considerable distress being experienced across the workforce.

“We remain ready to negotiate a settlement. The principal and executive must now take responsibility for ending this dispute, protecting jobs and allowing staff and students to get back to the work of the university.”

The university has said that the vice chancellor will meet with regional union representatives this week and next, while senior leadership have spoken with striking colleagues at the picket line and attended negotiations in person.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Caledonian University added: “It is disappointing that the unions continue with strike action rather than coming to the table to negotiate.

“We are serious about protecting the future of the University and are ready to hear from the unions once they have a serious counter-proposal for us to consider.

“In the meantime, our priority remains supporting our students and non-striking colleagues who have been affected by strike action as best we can.”