UCU members at the University of Sheffield have been taking sustained industrial action against management plans that put jobs at risk and ramp up already unsustainable workloads. Sheffield UCU’s State of the University campaign is clear that this crisis should not be treated as inevitable: it argues that senior management decisions have played a major role in bringing the institution to this point. Nationally, UCU reports that staff took 14 days of strike action beginning 17th November 2025, with the dispute centred on redundancy risks and wider cuts—up to 20 staff were already at risk of compulsory redundancy at the time.
What makes this dispute especially alarming for the whole sector is the escalation in management tactics. Times Higher Education reports that staff were warned they could face further deductions (“double deductions”) if they did not reschedule teaching missed during the strike, including a threat that “100 per cent of your pay will be withheld” for a stated period, on the basis that staff would be in “breach of [their] contract”. The Sheffield Tribune also reports staff being warned they “won’t be paid unless missed lessons are replaced”. Meanwhile, Sheffield UCU has said it expects further strike action in spring 2026 if a settlement is not reached.
This concerns all of us at MMU because it’s the same model spreading across UK higher education: job cuts, restructures, workload intensification, and the expectation that staff will absorb the damage—while students pay the price in disrupted teaching and a degraded learning experience. Sheffield is not an isolated case; it’s a warning. If one university can push through cuts and then try to punish staff for taking lawful action, others will be tempted to follow. If we don’t stand together, it will be our turn next. The best response is collective action and visible solidarity—because solidarity is how we protect each other and defend the future of the sector.
How MMU UCU members can support Sheffield UCU
- Send messages of support / amplify Sheffield UCU updates through branch networks.
- Donate to Sheffield UCU’s Industrial Action Solidarity Fund (their branch describes it as a “vital lifeline” funded by solidarity donations).
- Support any solidarity actions our branch can organise (statements, photos, delegations to picket lines if further action is called).
An injury to one is an injury to all — and Sheffield’s fight is part of the wider fight to stop UK higher education being dismantled job-by-job and department-by-department.