Dundee University should not punish staff for its over-reliance on cash from foreign students, a union leader has warned.
University and College Union (UCU) Scotland President Carlo Morelli said Covid-19 has exposed the frailties of “marketising” education.
The union has declared a dispute with Dundee University after it asked all staff to consider unpaid career breaks, reduced working hours, and early retirement to stave off pay cuts.
The university is under severe financial pressure as fee-paying non-EU students shun overseas studying.
Dr Morelli said the emails to employees amount to “threats” and called on bosses to drop the requests.
He said: “We want Dundee University and others to stop looking at staff as a way of balancing costs.
“Covid has exposed this move to marketisation and the reliance on fee-paying overseas students.
“Other European education systems have not seen as much effect as we have in Scotland.
“Universities should play a crucial role in education and the economy. It’s counter-productive for Dundee and employment here.”
Dundee University employs over 3000 people and the cost of wages has contributed to an estimated £15.6 million black hole next year.
It hopes a number of staff voluntarily switch to part-time working, full or flexible retirement, or go on career breaks of up to two years to help balance the books.
Dr Morelli said universities across the country are seeing demand for higher education remain high among local school-leavers.
He said: “Data from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) suggests the number of students from Scottish schools applying for undergraduate courses in Scotland is really positive.
“The reality is most overseas students study within the business school at Dundee University but it could affect every department.
“Realistically, nothing will be known until October when the student numbers are set.”
It also follows strike action over pensions as well as pay and working conditions in February.
Lecturers complained of losing large chunks of their salary between academic years and demanded fairer contracts.
Dundee and St Andrews Universities were among 13 institutions in Scotland and 74 across the UK affected by the issue, which has not yet been resolved.
A spokesperson for Dundee University said: “Our staff have responded magnificently to the challenges they have faced over the past six months so protecting their jobs is an absolute priority and asking them to consider flexible working and flexible retirement options was not something we entered into lightly.
“A number of those who have been working from home have asked for the option to consider a different work-life balance and this provides that opportunity as well as delivering cost savings.
“The Covid-19 pandemic comes on the back of several challenging financial years for the University and decisive action is required to avoid redundancies in the short term and protect the longer term health of the institution as we move forward.”
