Sheffield Hallam University says cuts are unavoidable. UCU members there aren’t buying it, and have proved their point. Photo Workers.
A dispute at Sheffield Hallam University involving lecturers in the University & College Union (UCU) has been resolved – at least for now – following 13 days of solid strike action during May and June.
The employer scrapped plans to move most academic staff to a wholly owned subsidiary company to create a multi-tier workforce and evade the university’s legal obligation to provide its teaching staff with access to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
72.6 per cent of UCU members voted in a ballot for action, with 87.7 per cent of those voting for strike action and 93.2 per cent for action short of a strike, and this had resulted in a planned 18 days of strikes.
As reported in Workers in November 2025, the finances of many of Britain’s universities are becoming progressively unstable, sliding deeper and deeper into debt. Hallam University claimed that its proposals were unavoidable in order to secure financial sustainability.
• A longer version of this article is on the web at www.cpbml.org.uk