The University of Edinburgh has joined Dundee and Nottingham as campuses where University and College Union staff are striking and management are planning redundancies and course closures because of funding shortfalls. Edinburgh leaders say the university faces a 400 million pound shortfall, prompting compulsory redundancies and strike action that students warn could wipe out a term of teaching. UCU staff at Dundee are undertaking a five week strike, while Nottingham announced a further round of strikes from 5 October through to the end of the semester, a stretch of 10 consecutive weeks. Nottingham managers say the institution has an 85 million pound deficit and proposed cutting nearly 10 percent of its 7,000 effective full-time positions and suspending entry to modern language and music courses. Academics and branch officers described the situation as destructive for higher education, and students and staff report widespread uncertainty as colleagues take voluntary redundancy or face job loss.
