A staff union at Dundee University has voted in favour of further industrial action in opposition of the proposals to cut more jobs, close campus services, and axe student courses.
The Dundee University and College Union (DUCU) announced on Thursday morning that they will strike for a period of 25 days due to the “long running dispute over cuts and job losses including compulsory redundancies.”
The 25 days will coincide with the beginning of the first week of classes from Monday September 21 until Friday October 23, a total of five weeks of class time.
This means that students may miss out on half of their classes throughout the first semester of the 2026/2027 year, since there are only 10 weeks of teaching in total.
This announcement has come ahead of a DUCU protest set to take place whilst the university court is in session.
Ian Ellis, co-president of the Dundee University UCU branch, said: “Five weeks of strikes at the start of the new term will have a real impact for the students starting their studies here.
“Absolutely no-one wants to take strike action, and the impact on students is hugely regretful but the fact is that another 200 staff members facing redundancy, on top of the over 800 who have already gone, will have a bigger impact on the university and on our students and their education than anything else imaginable.
“The deficit that started this catalogue of failure was the fault of the university executive and court, and the inability to find a solution to this crisis that doesn’t wholly impact on staff, who have done absolutely nothing wrong, simply signifies yet another failure of management.
“Government ministers are right to call out the lack of engagement with trade unions and staff. We want to be part of the solution to this crisis, but willingness to open and genuine engagement is a prerequisite for that.”
Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said: “When the ballot for strike action was last renewed, almost 80% of members backed the action.
“Staff have shown time after time that they’re prepared to defend jobs.
“The Scottish Government has rightly been critical of the lack of engagement from the university. Senior management at Dundee need to listen to their staff and students, and find a solution to this crisis that saves jobs and guarantees the university’s future.”
A University spokesperson said:
“We are disappointed by UCU’s decision to take industrial action, especially over such a long period.
“We are particularly disappointed that UCU has decided to attempt to disrupt the life of the University when our students are looking forward to a new academic term, and we call on them to suspend this action.
“This remains a profoundly difficult time for members of our community. While we recognise the right to strike, this action will do nothing to help build a sustainable future for the University.
“Most staff will be working as normal across the University and we expect most classes and student contact time to proceed as normal. We will do all we can to mitigate the impacts on our students and ensure as little disruption to their studies as possible.
“We want to work constructively with the trade unions and have been in regular discussion with them, including on the ongoing collective consultation process. We would encourage DUCU to continue to participate in our consultation process, during which important discussions about our proposals for change are instrumental to meaningful engagement with all of our recognised trade unions and our staff.”