Sheffield University: Octagon building occupied by student protesters in support of UCU strikes

The Sheffield Action Group (SAG), a student-led “direct action collective”, announced their occupation on Twitter at 10.55am today (February 9). The occupation marks the beginning of student action in solidarity with University and Colleges Union members taking industrial action over pay and conditions at universities across the UK.

In a tweet, the SAG said: “We have occupied The Octagon at Uni of Sheffield…Up the UCU!”

The group also said Sheffield University academics and the Vice-Chancellor, Koen Lamberts, were due to be attending a conference in the building today, which is now “in disarray”.

Banners held by the students read “Solidarity” and “No redundancies. Save the Archeology Dept!”.

Building occupations are not unheard of at Sheffield University, with the SAG taking over the Hicks Building in November 2022, and an anti-arms protest closing down the Diamond in October of the same year. Last year, the student newspaper, Forge Press, reported Sheffield University had obtained a court order to remove protesters from the SAG after they had simultaneously occupied five campus buildings.

The University and Colleges Union is one of the unions across a number of sectors in the UK taking industrial action, including strikes. The UCU has been in a long-standing battle with employers over pay, working conditions and pension cuts, with the Sheffield branch also taking action over the proposed closure of the university’s Archeology Department in recent years.

In real-terms pay cuts since 2010, lecturers are the second-biggest losers, only behind school teachers, according to Office of National Statistics figures.

When approached by The Star for a comment, a spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said: “Unfortunately a small group occupied The Octagon Centre on campus this morning where a conference was due to start. Due to this, the conference has been cancelled.”