Nottingham University staff set to strike for 67 days amid dispute over cuts

Staff at the University of Nottingham are set to strike for two days in September before taking part in a sustained 67-day strike through the autumn term, as unions continue their opposition to the university’s restructuring programme.

Members of the University and College Union’s (UCU) Nottingham branch have voted for strike action on 30^th September and 1^st October, followed by further action from 5^th October to 11^th December, as well as “action short of strike”.

The planned industrial action comes after both the UCU’s Nottingham branch and UNISON passed votes of no confidence in the University of Nottingham’s governing council over the second phase of its ‘Future Nottingham’ (FN2) restructuring plan.

Future Nottingham includes proposed redundancies, course closures and changes to student-to-staff ratios as part of the university’s efforts to address its financial position. These plans have faced opposition within the university itself, with its Senate highlighting concerns surrounding the loss of areas of teaching and research.

The UCU argues that redundancies are no longer financially necessary in light of strong undergraduate recruitment, an increase in voluntary redundancy applications and alternative saving proposals from staff. The union also points to the university saying it is now in surplus.

Both the UCU and UNISON have accused the University Council of failing to hold senior management to account over restructuring plans.

The University Council is the university’s board of trustees and has responsibility for its finances and strategy.

The first two-day strike has been scheduled to coincide with a Council meeting on 30^th September, when the final FN2 business case is expected to be considered.

The fresh wave of strikes comes as part of a long-standing dispute between the university and unions, with several strikes taking place over 2025 and 2026, including a marking and assessment boycott earlier this year.

UONUCU, via X

The UCU said in a press release that it is “very open to talks with management” and called on the university to resolve the issue ahead of the new academic year by ruling out compulsory redundancies and department closures, protecting teaching and research, and engaging with alternative proposals.

Most Read

Tragic update on Perez Hilton, and the one question he’s asking amidst ‘lifelong disfigurement’

Everything we’ve learned about Perez Hilton’s recovery as he faces permanent ‘disfigurement’

Details emerge as Forbes 30 Under 30 CEO is among seven dead in helicopter crash

Nick Clare, UCU Nottingham’s branch president, said that staff “don’t want to strike”, but would not “stand by while colleagues lose their jobs and whole areas of teaching and research are dismantled unnecessarily. Council has the power to stop this.”

Andrew Renault, UCU Nottingham’s branch secretary, said: “We are concerned that the decision to cut staff numbers and increase staff–student ratios was taken long before talks began and that management is simply too entrenched to be willing to change them now.

“UCU has submitted a detailed, 200-page counterproposal that identifies realistic alternatives to compulsory redundancies. It sets out how the University can protect its long-term financial sustainability without hollowing out its teaching and research mission.

“There is an alternative to making staff pay for management’s poor decisions. Our proposals show that these cuts are a choice, not an inevitability.

“The University’s 2025 accounts report an operating deficit of £85.3m. But a substantial part of that figure reflects exceptional property write-downs, not the ordinary cost of carrying out teaching and research. 

Once these exceptional property losses are separated out, the underlying financial position is far less catastrophic, which is why we reject claims that mass job cuts are unavoidable.”

A spokesperson for the University of Nottingham said: “While we recognise employees’ right to take industrial action, we are disappointed by the timing of this, which could impact new and returning students at the start of the academic year.

“Many of our students will be unaffected by this action, but we understand that this will cause concern and want to reassure them we have clear procedures and support in place to minimise any disruption.

“All Future Nottingham counterproposals are in the process of being reviewed and considered to help inform the university’s final business case, which will go to the University Council for a decision in the autumn. We are continuing to engage in meaningful discussions with our trade union colleagues as part of this process.”

For more of the latest news, guides, gossip and memes, follow The Nottingham Tab on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

Featured image via by Korng Sok on Unsplash