Students at the University of Sheffield have voted to support staff taking strike action against cuts.

It comes as a part of the Students’ Union election and referendum that has given students the opportunity to have their say on key issues facing the institution and elect peer representatives.

The ‘Vote Yes’ campaign statement says, “Striking is not a choice taken lightly: it is only happening because management is doing something intolerable.”

At the end of 2024 the university announced it was facing a budget shortfall of £50 million due to decreasing registration numbers and less international students enrolling.

The university announced plans to manage this deficiency that would put as many as 1000 members of staff at risk of redundancy.

A £400,000 cut to the Students’ Union budget, course merges and MA cuts will also affect students and staff.

A total of 2,217 students voted in support of the strikes despite the disruption it will cause to education.

Campaigners want the Students’ Union to offer itself as a hosting space for teach outs and support international students not wanting to cross picket lines by removing attendance penalties.

The University of Sheffield is not the only local institution facing strike action – Sheffield Hallam University staff began striking on 24 March over a pushback of pay increases.

The university is currently funding the development of a satellite campus in London, leaving students and staff disappointed in the institution’s choice to focus their budget on new buildings rather than supporting its current faculty.

Sheffield Hallam’s Vice Chancellor, Chris Husbands, wrote in his blog in 2022: “Over the next decade, the Hallam London campus will become an integral part of the University, growing to some 5,000 students and expanding the university’s influence, provision and impact.”

With both major Sheffield universities facing financial difficulties and strike action, the city’s reputation as a student-friendly place to live is under threat.

Strikes at the University of Sheffield currently have no planned date but it is expected that these will cause disruption to learning in this academic year.