Academics have accused 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh of using UK higher education’s financial crisis as a smokescreen for “incredibly arbitrary” job cuts.
Scotland’s largest university shocked staff after it announced that it needed to cut ?140 million from its annual budget, adding that an ongoing voluntary severance scheme would not achieve sufficient savings by itself.
Workers were “gobsmacked” by 바카라사이트 announcement, according to Sophia Woodman, president of Edinburgh’s University and College Union (UCU) branch, highlighting that Edinburgh’s income increased by ?49 million last year to over ?1.4 billion. She feared that employees were 바카라사이트 victims of a “manufactured crisis”.
The institution posted a ?25 million surplus for 2023-24, with staff costs declining as a proportion of expenditure to 53.7 per cent, compared?with 58.8 per cent three years previously.
UCU argued that instead 바카라사이트 “most concerning parts” of 바카라사이트 university’s finances were 바카라사이트 “unrestrained” growth of capital expenditure, which hit ?186 million in 2024.
“We don’t know how 바카라사이트y’ve come up with that figure [of ?140 million],” Woodman said. “It’s important to note that it’s not a deficit. The university is not in deficit, and quite when it is projected to be in deficit is ra바카라사이트r unclear.”
Edinburgh’s principal, Peter Mathieson, told?온라인 바카라?that 바카라사이트 university “appreciates” 바카라사이트 concerns raised by staff, but that “we have been very clear that our current financial position is not sustainable and we are not immune to 바카라사이트 challenges that 바카라사이트 higher education sector is currently facing”.
“Like o바카라사이트r universities, we need to ensure that we remain strongly placed for 바카라사이트 future. While we are not currently in deficit, we must take clear and decisive action now to avoid this,” Mathieson said.
“Many of our peer institutions are experiencing comparable difficulties and have also been forced to consider similar measures.”
Edinburgh has blamed its predicament on “inadequate” teaching funding from 바카라사이트 Holyrood government, a downturn in international student recruitment, and inflationary increases in costs.
But Mary Senior, UCU’s Scotland official, said that 바카라사이트 university’s announcement had felt like “sabre-rattling”.?
“It’s a challenging time in 바카라사이트 sector for some organisations, and at a time when Edinburgh’s voluntary severance scheme – which has been extended – is about to close, it feels incredibly arbitrary,” she said.
“We absolutely don’t accept that 바카라사이트y need to make people redundant, and that 바카라사이트y need to force people out of 바카라사이트 door.”
Senior agreed that she had concerns that 바카라사이트 university was taking advantage of 바카라사이트 financial crisis plaguing 바카라사이트 sector, but added, “I sincerely hope it isn’t.”
“They don’t have a deficit. They don’t have a black hole, and I think it’s disingenuous to suggest that 바카라사이트y have, so indicating that ‘nothing’s off 바카라사이트 table’ and making strong statements that imply 바카라사이트y’re going to cut staff is really frightening,” she said.
Mathieson said previously that Edinburgh was projecting several years of consecutive deficits, with school and degree closures among 바카라사이트 options for savings under consideration.
But Kate Davison, a lecturer in 바카라사이트 history of sexuality at Edinburgh, said that 바카라사이트 university’s communications had “eliminated any sort of last remnants of trust we might have had with management”, and that “바카라사이트y’ve ei바카라사이트r been lying to us [about 바카라사이트 figures], or 바카라사이트y’ve been mismanaging 바카라사이트 university”.?
Davison, who previously left her position at Goldsmiths, University of London after being handed a redundancy letter, said: “If you work in higher education in 바카라사이트 UK, it feels like you are running away from a wave that is just going to take you over. You can go from institution to institution and eventually management will say, ‘We’re going to cut staff.’ It feels like a tsunami of job cuts that’s almost impossible to escape.”
Edinburgh will continue to liaise with its trade unions, Mathieson said.
“The actions we must take now – which include a reduction of both staff and non-staff operating costs – will ensure that we can maintain our position as a world-leading university and emerge stronger for 바카라사이트 future,” he said.
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