Staff at city's two universities vote to strike

Sheffield Hallam University staff went on strike earlier this year

Staff at Sheffield's two universities have voted in favour of strike action in disputes over job cuts, working conditions and workloads, a union has said.

The University and College Union (UCU) said no dates had yet been set for the action by its members at Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield.

A Sheffield Hallam University spokesperson said it had made "tough decisions" to avoid compulsory redundancies and about 500 staff had left through voluntary severance in 2024.

The University of Sheffield said it would "stand by its commitment" to make no compulsory redundancies in this calendar year, but it was reviewing academic structures and staffing levels in some areas.

Sheffield Hallam recently defended its decision to spend £140m on a new campus in the city, and has also invested in a new campus in London.

Staff there went on strike in March after management delayed a 2.7% pay rise by seven months without back pay.

The new Sheffield Hallam University City campus

The UCU said that in its ballot of members at Sheffield Hallam, 79% of participating staff voted for strike action and 88% backed action short of a strike, on a turnout of 54%.

A UCU spokesperson said the dispute at the site "centres on the refusal of Sheffield Hallam's leadership to rule out compulsory redundancies, despite already having slashed jobs during 2024".

The union had also "raised the alarm over spiralling workloads as fewer staff are left to do more work", they said.

"The cuts are being driven by the university's decision to plough more than £200m into major building projects, while announcing further budget reductions of £28m for 2025-26," the union spokesperson said.

"At the same time, over £10m is earmarked for a controversial London campus franchise, which is unlikely to deliver returns for years to come."

'Financial challenges'

Responding, a Sheffield Hallam University spokesperson expressed disappointment at the planned action, and said everything possible would be done to minimise the impact on students.

The spokesperson said: "Like all universities, we have had to make some tough decisions due to the financial challenges being faced across higher education.

"To date, we have been able to make significant savings to set us on a path to a more financially sustainable future without the need for any compulsory redundancies.

"With the overall financial picture for universities likely to be challenging for some time, we must continue to make the difficult choices required to reduce costs and increase income."

The university would continue to seek to avoid compulsory redundancies "where possible" and would "continue to engage closely with our staff and trade union representatives", the spokesperson added.

UCU members at the University of Sheffield are expected to strike following the vote

Meanwhile, the UCU said that 77% of its members at the University of Sheffield had voted for strike action and 82% had voted for action short of a strike, with a ballot turnout of 52%.

A UCU spokesperson said: "This demonstrates a strong commitment from our members to resist management's ongoing campaign of job cuts and the threat to staff workload and wellbeing that they represent.

"Our negotiators are continuing to meet with management, and we hope this strong mandate encourages management to make an offer that will avert the need to take this strike action."

A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said: "We stand by our commitment to make no compulsory redundancies this calendar year and will continue to work with trade unions to avoid them wherever possible in the future as the university adapts to the pressures facing the higher education sector.

"If the trade union decides to call on its members to take industrial action, we expect the vast majority of our students and staff will be unaffected.

"We will do everything we can to minimise any potential impact. We will keep our staff and students updated."

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