Both Goldsmiths UCU (GUCU) and Goldsmiths UNISON have expressed concerns about the Future Goldsmiths programme and the University's plans to make £22 million in recurrent savings through organisational restructuring.
GUCU has formally moved into dispute with the University over the Future Goldsmiths programme and the proposed restructuring plans. In January 2026, the union passed a motion stating that it was prepared to launch a local dispute with the employer in response to the University's proposed "shape-and-size" restructuring and the anticipated impact on jobs, working conditions, and the wider learning environment. The union described the proposals as a significant threat not only to staff employment but also to the conditions in which students learn and staff work.
In April 2026, GUCU members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, including both strike action and Action Short of a Strike (ASOS). The branch subsequently voted to begin a Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB), which is a form of ASOS, alongside working to contract and refusing voluntary duties. The union argues that the scale of the proposed cuts would have a significant impact on jobs, courses, support services, and the long-term future of the institution.
The trade unions have raised a number of concerns, many of which have also been expressed by other members of the Goldsmiths community:
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The Future Goldsmiths programme risks substantial job losses across both academic and professional services areas.
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Repeated restructures in recent years have failed to address underlying institutional challenges.
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Further reductions in staffing is likely to negatively affect teaching, research, student support, and the overall student experience.
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Alternative approaches to financial recovery should be explored before large-scale staffing reductions are implemented.
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Staff, students, and trade unions should have a meaningful role in shaping the University's future, which should come from the ground up.
Goldsmiths UNISON has also opposed the restructuring proposals and raised concerns about the impact of staffing reductions on professional services, student support, workloads, wellbeing and the long-term sustainability of services across the University. UNISON and GUCU have participated in the formal consultation process, scrutinising business cases, raising concerns about proposed redundancies and restructures, and advocating for the protection of jobs and services. Both unions have argued that professional services staff play a critical role in supporting students and that reductions in staffing may have consequences for the quality, accessibility and responsiveness of university services. UNISON has not, at the time of writing, publicly announced industrial action in response to the Future Goldsmiths programme.
Where are we now, and why? The Lockout
The University has maintained that Future Goldsmiths is necessary to address ongoing financial challenges and secure the institution's long-term sustainability. At 3pm on Friday 22 May 2026, the University announced that staff participating in Action Short Of a Strike (ASOS), including the Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB), would be subject to 100% pay deductions. Allegedly, a member of the Executive Board stated that staff participating in the MAB should “stay at home”. An email from David Oswell to all staff stated that GUCU members participating in ASOS “are not expected to undertake any work duties during this time.” GUCU described this as an effective "lockout" of staff, and argued that employees were being denied pay despite continuing to undertake other aspects of their work.
It can be argued that the 100% deductions policy risks escalating the dispute rather than resolving it. Rather than allowing staff to continue carrying out the parts of their jobs that directly benefit students while boycotting marking as a form of industrial action, the policy effectively excludes them from all university work. It removes staff from the wider life of the University: teaching classes, holding office hours, supervising dissertations and research projects, providing pastoral support, supporting and holding events, and carrying out the admin tasks and interactions to help students. In practice, students lose access to staff expertise, guidance and support at a time when many are already facing uncertainty about the future of their courses, schools and support services. The imposition of 100% deductions not only penalises staff for taking industrial action, but also for opposing the proposed cuts and reductions to courses, support services and the wider student experience. Staff are attempting to resist changes that had (in previous restructures) reduced educational provision, diminished student support and further eroded the student experience at Goldsmiths.
Perhaps most importantly, the 100% deductions policy enables the University to create a false divide between students and staff. It risks putting students against staff by weaponising and narrowing disruption, for the benefit of the institutional narrative. Yet, all of us are affected by the same underlying issue: a programme of cuts and restructuring that will shape the future of Goldsmiths long after the current dispute ends. Rather than asking whether students should side with staff or management, the real question we ask jointly is what kind of university students and staff want Goldsmiths to be in the future.
In response, the GUCU announced an indefinite strike beginning on Monday 8 June 2026.
What is the difference between Strike Action, and Action Short of a Strike (ASOS)?
Both strike action and ASOS are forms of industrial action. They put pressure on employers in order to call for change.
During strike action, staff will walk out. Classes and assessments are likely to be cancelled, and most University functions are likely to shut down. You may want to check ahead of time with your tutors and other University services. The SU will still be running, and SU spaces will be open as usual.
During ASOS, staff can take action such as:
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working to contract
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not covering for absent colleagues
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not rescheduling lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action
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not undertaking any voluntary activities
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a marking and assessment boycott, where staff temporarily abstain from marking and writing feedback for assignments
At the moment, an indefinite strike started on Monday 8 June 2026. The MAB is also ongoing. The industrial action will continue until University management have addressed the Union’s red line demands: https://goldsmithsucu.org/2026/01/29/motion-to-move-into-dispute/.