Vote shows 9 in 10 Scottish university staff have 'no confidence' in bosses as industrial action moves closer

A vote has found 89 per cent of staff at crisis-hit Dundee University have no confidence in management.

The result of the poll of more than 1,200 employees emerged as a trade union took steps towards a ballot for industrial action over its failure to rule out compulsory redundancies.

The University of Dundee has flagged staffing cuts to meet a 30 million pound deficit. Picture: NationalWorld | TSPL

Dundee University has been plunged into turmoil since principal Iain Gillespie wrote to staff last month warning jobs could be axed to plug a predicted deficit of up to £30 million.

Professor Gillespie then resigned earlier this month, amid ongoing scrutiny of the university’s finances.

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The Scotsman later revealed how the Scottish Funding Council had stepped in to help the university draw up a financial recovery plan.

At what has been described as one of the best attended “town hall meetings” ever held at the University of Dundee, the University and College Union (UCU), Unison and Unite trade unions launched an all-staff “vote of no confidence” in the university executive group last week.

Employees were asked: “Do you have confidence in the university executive group’s ability to effectively and responsibly oversee the financial and strategic operations of the University of Dundee?”

The unions said 1,236 said “no”, while only 150 responded “yes”.

“Given the level of engagement and resounding ‘no’ vote, it is clear that staff at the University of Dundee are extremely frustrated at how the current leadership is handling the crisis,” the trade unions said.

The unions are also unhappy at being excluded from a sub-committee established to oversee the recovery plan.

One employee said: “Who makes up the sub-committee that has been formed? Transparency does not mean a sub-committee made up of people who will be investigating themselves.”

Meanwhile, the Dundee UCU branch has filed a “failure to agree” notice around compulsory redundancies and, if not resolved, it said it intends to escalate the dispute.

A staff member said: “Cutting staff and recruiting more students is never the answer. You will end up with already overwhelmed staff burning out. Teaching and research quality will fall, along with our reputation.”

The Scotsman reported last month how Dundee University’s financial woes could get worse as it faces having to repay a chunk of its grant over a major shortfall in the recruitment of Scottish undergraduate students.

Prof Shane O’Neill, interim principal and vice-chancellor at Dundee University, said: “I attended the town hall meeting organised by our campus unions last week, to listen to the perspectives of colleagues.

“The vote was raised there, and I acknowledged at the end of the meeting the strength of feelings running through our community and the frustrations and anxieties that were expressed.

“As an executive group we are working closely with our court on a recovery plan to address the financial challenges facing the university.

“We are doing this so that we can build resilience and be fit for the long term in continuing to deliver outstanding education and research and to impact positively on our city, this region and beyond.

“That work is being carried out urgently, and we will not be diverted from our commitment to ensuring the university’s long-term sustainability. We will be bringing forward more details of the recovery plan and associated proposals in the New Year.”