As snow fell on Wednesday morning, dozens of university staff members braved the picket lines across campus.
The University and College Union (UCU) has called for 16 days of industrial action, aiming to bring an end to cuts in university funding which has threatened many jobs.
They have reported that Sheffield University is planning to cut £5m, with some departments facing redundancies of up to 80% of staff.
We spoke to staff to see why they are striking and what they hope to achieve.
What is a strike?
A strike is when an organisation or group of people refuse to do any work in order to protest something.
This typically involves not coming into work at all and not engaging with any digital correspondence regarding their work.
For universities, this often means academics temporarily pause their research, and teaching may be affected.
Many staff will also form a picket line, standing outside university property and encouraging others to join their protest.
Strikes are done as a means of last resort, and happen when employees feel they have no other option in order to protect their rights.
Strikes often have differing aims, but largely centre around pay disputes or institutional support issues.
Why are they on strike?
For many striking staff, they feel they now have no option but to disrupt university life in order to protect the standard of education which they want to deliver.
Mx Nick Burke, a Post-Graduate Researcher in the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations, told us: “the management of the university feel they can just do anything they like, just keep bringing more cuts that are not necessary.”
The strikes come amidst repeated cuts and financial difficulties in the whole higher education sector, with falling recruitment levels and a lack of public funding being blamed for the cash flow problems.
The Office for Students has predicted that higher education establishments could be operating at a £4.4bn loss by 2028.
However, Sheffield University itself has had a net cash surplus every year since the 2005-6 academic year.
After the 2023-24 year, their net assets were over £1.7bn, and their cash reserves were £221 million.
Many have therefore placed the blame for the cuts on university mismanagement.
Mx Burke believes cuts have come as a result of an “out-of-date ideology”, which aims to “kick the can down the road for a few months” rather than fix the integral issues in the institution.
“They’re wanting to protect the maximum possible amount of money they can make”, they said.
“When is it going to end?”
What are the aims?
The UCU has laid out its aims in a leaflet handed out by picketing staff.
The core belief is that “any savings required can be made without having to make compulsory redundancies or reduce the staff budget by such a large amount.”
“This will be better for staff, students, and the future of the University of Sheffield.”
Staff have also outlined that the rapid rate of the redundancies – and lack of preparation for them – has left departments unable to provide the level of education they want to.
Professor Willy Kitchen, from the School of Education, said that the restructuring is “simply not sustainable at the pace that it’s happening.”
Having worked at the university for 25 years, Prof Kitchen said:
“I’m struggling in a way that I haven’t felt that I have struggled to support my students for a very long time.”
He wants the university to better analyse their reform proposals before they are enacted.
Slowing down the decision-making process would stop them feeling so rushed, and take pressure off academics, resulting in better teaching.
“We’re trying to manage new modules, new processes, less staff”, he said, adding “we’re too busy chasing our tails” to properly help students.
Are the aims realistic?
The UCU has not outlined exact targets in their literature, but is hoping to generally prevent unnecessary job losses.
Compared to previous industrial action, these aims seem more mild.
Their leaflet cites the success of previous UCU action, having successfully reversed pension cuts of about 30%.
Staff have told us they feel positive about their ability to reach a constructive outcome with the university.
Mx Burke told us that students have been instrumental to the strikes, and specifically that seeking compensation from the university for missed teaching time forces the management to act.
They said: “It puts pressure on an institution not to just behave cynically, and want to wait out strikes and not care about the impact on students.”
How has the university responded?
We contacted Sheffield University to see how they were approaching the strikes, and to see how they were responding to the demands.
A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said: “We are taking a considered and strategic approach to the financial challenges facing UK universities, focused on maintaining an excellent education and experience for our students.
“The UK higher education sector continues to face significant uncertainty and we therefore have a responsibility to ensure our University is sustainable, aligned with future needs, while safeguarding our world-class teaching and research.”
Regarding ending the strikes, the spokesperson said: “We had sincerely hoped to avoid industrial action and are doing all we can to bring it to a close. The University met with UCU representatives again this week and made a new offer that includes extending our commitment to no compulsory redundancies until October 2026. “
The university has maintained its commitment to protecting students’ experiences, but has told us that cuts in some form are necessary.
The spokesperson said: “We remain focused on achieving the savings we need through voluntary means, and no compulsory redundancies have been made to date. Our offer aims to provide stability for our students, and we are awaiting UCU’s response.
“We will continue to protect the high quality education Sheffield is known for as we position the University to thrive in a competitive and dynamic higher education landscape.”
So how will students be affected?
The staff we spoke to were clear that protecting students’ education was paramount, with many academics organising teach-outs so that students don’t miss out on teaching.
They added that they have been touched by the support received from students, who themselves have widely supported their goals.
“They’re not just going to accept that it is just greedy staff members trying to get more by striking”, said Mx Burke.
Whilst the 16 proposed days of action may disrupt some classes, there is hope that an outcome may be reached which renders them unnecessary.
We shall have to wait to find out whether the UCU accepts Sheffield University’s proposal, but in the meantime, strikes look set to continue until the 12th of December.
Ultimately, staff do not want to be on strike, as they do not get paid whilst not working, but they feel it is the only way they can make their voices heard and stop the university from being lost entirely.
Mx Burke said students should be concerned that the standard of their teaching is being eroded as the university continues to shrink.
They added:
“If there is no university left, then there’s not a good student experience there either.”
Photo credits: Christopher Thomas
