Second university in city begins strike action

Members of the University and College Union are on strike at both Sheffield universities

Staff at the University of Sheffield have started the first of several days of strike action, joining fellow union members from Sheffield Hallam University on the picket line.

Lecturers and admin staff at both universities will walk out on numerous days as part of industrial action that is expected to last until early December.

The University and College Union (UCU) said staff were protesting against redundancies, workloads and cost cutting.

The University of Sheffield said it remain committed to making no compulsory redundancies before 31 December 2025. Sheffield Hallam said universities faced "financial challenges" and it would seek to avoid compulsory redundancies "where possible".

Ryan Bramley is one of the lecturers on strike from the University of Sheffield

Dr Ryan Bramley, a lecturer in education at the University of Sheffield, said cuts were having an impact on students and staff.

"The university experience is almost unrecognisable from 10 years ago and a big reason for that is the amount of staffing cuts we've seen, not just in terms of academic staff but also our professional services colleagues," he said.

"I'm finding it increasingly difficult to provide students with the time they deserve and are paying for.

"All of this is having a really dramatic impact on the experience that students have when they come to us so we're here to say enough is enough.

"We are fed up with restructures and uncertainty around whether we're going to have a job next year. The feeling that your job is constantly under some form of threat is not an environment you can work in and provide the best possible student experience."

The University of Sheffield said it expected the vast majority of students to be unaffected by the industrial action and would do everything it could to minimise any impact.

A spokesperson said: "We had sincerely hoped to be able to avoid industrial action. Over the past couple of months, we have been meeting regularly with the Sheffield branch of the UCU to try to find a way through their dispute.

"The sector continues to face significant uncertainty and we therefore have a responsibility to ensure we remain sustainable and aligned with future needs, while safeguarding our world-class teaching and research."

There is ongoing uncertainty in the university sector over student recruitment and the international student fee levy.

The UCU has balloted universities nationwide on strike action and expects a result in December.

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