A petition has been launched after the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) announced cuts in an attempt to make £2million of savings.

The trade union UCU Scotland are concerned that the proposed loss of 16 jobs in the Executive Office will not make the required savings, and that it will be the start of even more job cuts.

Click on this link to sign the petition : Save UHI – Stop the Cuts

The petitioners state:

This dispute is about saving jobs and protecting tertiary education provision in the Highlands and Islands. Compulsory redundancies are counterproductive and will pose a serious threat to the student experience and the sustainability of the university. Some staff may lose their jobs which will be devastating for individuals and their families. These redundancies will have a damaging impact upon the university’s reputation and its own 2030 strategy (https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/t4-media/one-web/university/about-uhi/facts-and-figures/publications/pdfs/uhi-strategic-plan-2030.pdf), as well as impacting our local communities across the region. 

And it continues:

We believe that the university could make savings through other voluntary means and cost saving initiatives, but the response from senior management has been to refuse these demands. Consideration should be given to work with our academic partners and other universities facing financial hardship to look at best practice in achieving cost savings that do not involve staff cuts….We remain committed to working with the university to secure financial stability that does not involve cutting staff and will ultimately lead to a brighter future for our students.

The current proposed job cuts come just 2 years after UHI imposed compulsory redundancies in an effort to save £3million.

A ballot for industrial action opened on 10 September at UHI in the dispute over the job losses and the use of compulsory redundancies.