A University of Dundee town hall meeting escalated on Thursday afternoon as staff marched on the principal’s office.
It’s understood senior management alerted security during the incident which saw employees at the institution demand University Executive Group (UEG) members answer questions about its financial crisis and their futures.
Up to 20 members of staff, who made their way to the fourth floor of the Tower Building near interim principal Shane O’Neill’s office, were then asked to disperse.
The university summit was held as uncertainty over the turmoil grows.
632 jobs are at risk as it tries to recover from a £35 million deficit.
‘Unacceptable’
A University of Dundee spokesperson said: “A group of staff members were asked to disperse from outside the interim principal’s office after congregating there following a town hall meeting organised by the campus unions.
“There have been weekly meetings with the campus unions, with the next one scheduled for Tuesday.
“We are committed to working alongside staff to secure a positive future for the university and we are currently evaluating alternative recovery proposals presented by the campus unions.
“However, actions such as we have seen today are not acceptable and are not in any way conducive to constructive engagement.”
This week an independent probe into the institution’s financial crisis was launched.
And nearly 1,000 people, both online and in-person, attended Thursday’s town hall meeting to discuss the issues.
‘632, shame on you’
The event was held by the three campus unions – UCU, Unison and Unite.
Staff and students expressed their outrage at the lack of communication from the university’s leadership team, who it is claimed were absent from the gathering.
One person in attendance shouted: “We need new leaders now.”
There were calls for UEG sackings before protesters decided to head to the fourth floor amid chants of: “632, shame on you.”
On arrival, one or two knocked on the door of senior management offices.
Within minutes, security who had been present at the town hall meeting were on the scene.
One campus security guard said: “We’ve got concerned members of staff inside.
“They’re feeling unsafe.”
Dundee-based Labour MSP Michael Marra – worked at the university for 16 years prior to his election to parliament – told us: “This is an extraordinarily stressful time for all staff and full inclusion of the university community in decision making is vital to build confidence in a process that to date has lacked both transparency and accountability.
“The situation is urgent and the management in place must now be fully focussed on meeting the two-week deadline that I made them commit to in front of parliamentary committee.
“It is vital they are supported in that urgent work, the latest version of which staff will rightly have the chance to examine and challenge fully.”
We told earlier this week how former principal Iain Gillespie and chief operations officer Jim McGeorge could be compelled to give evidence at Holyrood on the university’s troubles in a legal first.
Mr Gillespie – who quit in December – has turned down an invitation to be quizzed because he is “travelling”.
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