University (UHI) Staff Strike in Dispute Over Job Cuts Today - 10 Redundancy Notices already Handed Out
30th October 2025
Staff at University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) have commenced a series of strike actions beginning 30 October 2025, in protest at proposed job cuts and the use of compulsory redundancies.
The walk-out is set for four days this month today 30 October and further dates on 5, 17 and 18 November.
At the heart of the dispute is the university's proposal to make savings of around £2 million by cutting approximately 16 jobs within its executive office.
The local branch of the University and College Union (UCU) has criticised the plan, arguing that staff are already under heavy pressure after previous rounds of cuts, and that the decision to proceed with compulsory redundancies is unjustifiable.
The union further warns that the remaining workforce will face increased workloads and instability, undermining both staff welfare and the student experience.
From the university’s management perspective, they contend that they have engaged in "extensive and constructive dialogue" but currently see “no viable options” to deliver the required savings outside of restructuring.
This dispute reflects a broader trend across UK higher education, where many institutions are grappling with financial pressures, increasing costs, and the need to restructure operations while maintaining quality. For staff, the strike action represents a defence not only of jobs, but of working conditions, institutional stability and the capacity to deliver for students.
In this context, the strike can be seen both as a symptom of the structural crisis in the sector and as a stand by employees to demand fairer engagement and alternatives to compulsory redundancies. Unless a negotiated resolution is reached, both sides face heightened risk of staff disruption and reputational damage on the one hand, and for the university, further erosion of moral.
Ultimately, the situation at UHI raises key questions: How should universities reconcile fiscal constraint with academic mission and staff security? What role does shared negotiation play before irreversible decisions such as job cuts are announced? And how might institutions avoid repeating the pattern of cuts followed by industrial action?
As the strike unfolds, all stakeholders—students, staff, management and the wider sector—will be watching whether this becomes a turning point or another chapter in ongoing unrest in higher education.
