“These workers feel they’re made to pay the price of poor decision-making by university bosses.”
By UNISON East Midlands
Hundreds of professional services staff at the University of Nottingham have voted for strike action in a row over job cuts.
Workers including security officers, library personnel and administrators, are set to walk out unless university bosses scrap plans to axe jobs. More than three quarters (78%) of staff who voted backed strike action.
The row centres on the university’s plans to axe 356 posts. Earlier this year UNISON submitted a proposal that would save the institution up to £50m without need for compulsory job losses. Despite university leaders accepting elements of the union’s plans, just five posts have been saved.
A recent investigation suggested the new university campus has already cost £47m, on top of the £37.5m it cost to buy the site, at a time when almost 400 staff had taken voluntary redundancy since September 2024.
UNISON East Midlands head of higher education Elliot Dean said: “It’s extremely concerning that the university continues to spend tens of millions on new developments while claiming financial hardship and proposing to axe hundreds of jobs as a result.
Staff are bearing the brunt of cost-cutting while decisions about multi-million-pound projects are being made with limited transparency. That undermines trust and morale across the campus.
No one takes the decision to strike lightly, but these workers feel they’re made to pay the price of poor decision-making by university bosses.”
- You can follow the University of Nottingham UNISON branch on Facebook and Twitter/X, and UNISON nationally on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
- This article is taken from a press release published by UNISON on 29 August 2025.
