Striking Sheffield Hallam staff warn bosses ‘putting the university in jeopardy’ with cuts

Striking staff at Sheffield Hallam University say the institution is “putting the university in jeopardy”.

Hallam branch members of the University and College Union returned to the picket line for a sixth day of strike action today, as they protest against a potential £31 million in planned budget cuts and the threat of compulsory redundancies.

Speaking on the picket line, one UCU representative said the action was necessary because management had refused to remove compulsory redundancies from the table.

“The main reason for striking today is the university is proposing a further 31 million pound in budget cuts this academic year,” they said. “We’ve asked they take compulsory redundancies off the table and reduce the severity of the cuts. We don’t even believe they need to do this – it’s a choice.

“The university won’t go bust if they don’t make these cuts,” they claimed.

The representative believed issues behind today’s strike were the product of long-term marketisation of higher education, with “decades” of growing pressure.

“These issues have been going on for decades. The drive to marketise higher education is in nobody’s interest, not even taxpayers. Students and staff are the pawns, and students are getting the worse deal.”

They criticised the sector’s competitive spending on advertising, calling it “glossy adverts that say nothing”.

According to the union, workloads have skyrocketed for staff due to a 20% cut to staffing :”We’ve lost 1,000 staff in the last two years out of 5,000, that’s a 20% reduction in headcount. We’re still teaching the same things as before.”

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The union says this year’s 1.4% pay uplift – which was delayed by seven months until March this year – leaves staff significantly worse off: “Inflation is far above that, we’ve had a pay cut of about 2% in real terms. That’s basically another week of unpaid work a year.”

They warned that staff on the lowest pay scale, including some on the real living wage, may struggle to cover basic costs

Negotiation frustrations

Outside the Owen Building, the representative expressed frustration at Hallam’s management’s handling of the dispute, claiming the university had repeatedly declined to negotiate until this week

“We’re extremely disappointed. We’ve been asking them since summertime to commit to no compulsory redundancies, they refused.

“We went into a meeting and they just said ‘No, we won’t do it’. And effectively sent us straight to strike action. We had to go back to them last week and ask to talk.”

In comparison, they noted that the University of Sheffield had already held “six to eight hours of talks”.

“All the evidence suggests they’re ignoring it and hoping the strike will fizzle out.”

They also raised concerns about rising staff illness: “Sickness rates have skyrocketed. We’ve got a serious mental health problem and they’re not addressing it. Reducing staff will only make workloads and sickness worse.”

A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam University said the institution was “disappointed” that UCU members had chosen to take industrial action but insisted the university was working to “minimise the impact on our students and wider university community.”

They said Hallam, like other universities, was making “tough decisions” in response to financial pressures, adding that the university had “been able to make significant savings without the need for any compulsory redundancies” so far.

The spokesperson said Hallam would “continue to seek to avoid compulsory redundancies where possible” and remained committed to engaging “closely and constructively” with staff and trade union representatives.

Message to students

Despite the disruption, the representative said student support had been “inspiring”.

“It’s not us causing the problem – it’s the executive team who’ve mismanaged finances and wasted money. Students’ learning opportunities are being cut, and staff are being blamed.”

They encouraged students to stay informed and show solidarity where they can.