The University and College Union (UCU) said its members at the University of Edinburgh walked out on Monday, alleging management has pulled back from commitments given in December. UCU claims University of Edinburgh management has breached the December agreement, but the university strongly refutes any suggestion that it has not upheld the terms of that agreement. All UCU members at the University of Edinburgh are striking on Monday and some will also be taking strike action on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday if they have teaching or administrative duties on those days. The strike on Monday marks the 10th day of action in the dispute after UCU members walked out over nine days last year.
The dispute at the University of Edinburgh began in February last year when the university announced plans to slash its budget by £140 million. The University and College Union warned the budget cuts could result in the loss of up to 1,800 jobs. UCU members at the University of Edinburgh walked out for a total of nine days in 2025 over the budget cut plans. In December 2025, University of Edinburgh management agreed to rule out compulsory redundancies until the end of July 2026. UCU members at the University of Edinburgh narrowly agreed to suspend industrial action during the existing industrial action mandate, which lasts until the end of April.
Lecturers at the University of Edinburgh are being balloted on further industrial action. The union is balloting University of Edinburgh members on a fresh mandate, which if passed would last for 12 rather than six months due to changes in employment law introduced in the Employment Rights Act 2025. UCU said the University of Edinburgh's financial accounts for 2024-25 confirmed it was not in deficit and that the university has reserves of more than £3 billion.
Workers at three Scottish universities—Glasgow, Strathclyde and Edinburgh Napier—are due to take part in a day of strike action on Friday, as part of a dispute over pay. Unite said about 1,000 members will walk out across Glasgow, Strathclyde and Edinburgh Napier universities. The industrial action mainly involves non-academic staff such as those working in estates, security, libraries and administration. Unite said staff face a 'massive real terms pay cut' in the 2025/26 financial year as a 1.4% pay offer was imposed, and is seeking a pay rise of at least RPI plus 3% in the current financial year and a minimum hourly rate of pay of £15.
At the University of Aberdeen, staff have walked out in a further 10 days of strike action in an ongoing dispute over cuts. The University and College Union had already staged four days of strikes at the University of Aberdeen last month. Staff will also strike on Tuesday this week, to be followed by further days on 22 to 24 April and 27 April to 1 May. UCU said the walkouts were over issues including refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies. The University of Aberdeen said it was continuing to engage in talks with the union.
The University of Aberdeen reopened a voluntary severance and early retirement scheme last year in a bid to find £5.5m in savings. The university also froze recruitment, and asked departments to identify other measures to save money. It recently confirmed 41 people took up an offer of a severance package or early retirement.