Lecturers at Robert Gordon University turned out in force against job cuts in what organisers say was the “biggest protest in over a decade”.
And while they made their anger clear on the picket line on Tuesday, students also explained how pressure at the institution is being felt in classrooms.
Third-year nursing students Jennifer Geddes, Tina Lawrie and Karen Cole, were among those showing their support for academic staff at Garthdee.
“It’s affected classes meaning we are now in a class with maybe two, three or four other classes depending on circumstances”, Ms Geddes said.
“Teachers are being pulled in at short notice because there’s been nobody to cover the classes. There is also a lack of resources when doing clinical skills.”
She added: “We’re having to re-use materials for the next set of students coming in because there has been a lack of funding for students in clinical skills.”
Ms Geddes said lecturers are under “so much pressure”, giving the example of one tutor she says worked more than 90 extra hours without additional pay.
More than 130 jobs were put at risk in November following the departure of a similar number of staff in a voluntary severance scheme launched earlier this year.
The university says it managed to scale back the maximum number of compulsory redundancies to 60 but staff want the threat taken off the table.
‘Our staffing is reduced but we’re expected to recruit more nurses’
Members of the EIS teaching union gathered outside the university’s Sir Ian Wood Building to make their case.
Jackie Leith, RGU’s principal lecturer for undergraduate nursing, says she has a role in preparing the future healthcare workforce in the region.
NHS Grampian is currently facing its own financial crisis, with pressure on the workforce from years of chronic underfunding.
She said: “The only way we get nurses available at scale is coming through here.
“Our staffing is reduced but we’re expected to recruit more nurses.”
The senior lecturer criticised the use of business class travel and catered meetings at a time of tight financial constraints.
Meanwhile, journalism lecturer Christopher Silver said the strike puts across the argument that there is “no need for compulsory redundancies”.
He said continued job losses will harm the quality of the student experience, as well as the range of degrees on offer.
The lecturer criticised the university for a “real lack of engagement”.
Regan Kyle, course leader for International Fashion Business, urged the university to take a “bigger look” at where else savings could be made.
She said staff help attract students to the university.
‘It’s more than just an ivory tower’
Chris Yuill, EIS branch secretary, highlighted the university’s role in providing jobs in the local economy including in engineering, nursing and social work.
“Researchers are doing stuff on the green economy, and other parts of Scottish infrastructure as well”, the lecturer added.
“It’s more than just an academic ivory tower. It’s something that’s very important to the north-east of Scotland.”
North East MSP Maggie Chapman – recently elected rector at crisis-hit Dundee University – was on the picket line to show her support.
She said the redundancies are “short-sighted” and warned the university will “pay the price in the future”.
The Green party politician called for a “very different approach” to higher education funding from the Scottish and UK governments.
She added: “The UK Government could at the stroke of a pen change the immigration rules that have made it so difficult for international students to come to the UK. But we do need that broader funding.”
‘Last resort’
The decision at RGU follows strikes at Dundee University where up to 700 people could lose their jobs.
First Minister John Swinney told the P&J last month that funding pressures at RGU are in a “completely different category” to the escalating situation in Dundee.
RGU principal Professor Steve Olivier said the university has consulted “extensively” with trade union representatives.
He said there will be a maximum of 60 compulsory redundancies as a result of the earlier two voluntary severance schemes.
Prof Olivier added: “The university has also identified over 60 vacant roles that will soon be made available for redeployment and it is hoped that this will bring the number of compulsory redundancies down further.”
Higher Education Minister Graeme Dey said: “The sector is aware we are open to exploring the future funding model of universities, but we are clear that this government will not re-introduce tuition fees.”
He added that broader financial pressures facing the sector remain, including the UK Government’s migration policies, employee’s National Insurance contributions, and inflationary pressures.
A UK government spokeswoman said international students will “always be welcome in the UK” but added net migration levels seen in recent years have been “completely unacceptable”.
She added: “Under our Plan for Change, our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system, linking immigration, skills and visa systems to grow our domestic workforce, end reliance on overseas labour and boost economic growth.”
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