Striking staff at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) have taken to the picket line to accuse the organisation of leaving under-threat employees "[U]HI and dry".

A number of protesters were spotted outside UHI's head office at UHI House in Inverness on Tuesday morning.

The staff, members of the University and College Union (UCU), carried out their one-day strike in response to plans for £4 million of budget cuts at the UHI which are set to cost dozens of staff their jobs.

Related: Strikes to go ahead amid dispute over staff cuts at University of the Highlands and Islands

The strike was the first of six days of walkouts planned in the coming weeks. The next will be a two-day strike on October 25 and 26, followed by a three-day one from October 31 to November 2.

Ahead of the strike, Sorcha Kirker, UHI UCU branch officer, said: "The very last thing we want to do is to go on strike, but the scale of these job losses, the lack of consultation and the rushed process has left us no choice.

"Even at this late stage, we call on the university’s principal to listen to her workforce, listen to students, and to local politicians and engage in talks to find a way forward that doesn’t involve this scale of cuts and job losses."

The union has also criticised what it claims has been a rushed consultation process, and also hit out at the plans for compulsory redundancies less than a year after staff who wished to take voluntary packages were told no.

Vicki Nairn, UHI's Interim Principal and Vice-Chancellor, said: “We absolutely respect the right of UCU members within our workforce to strike. We are working hard to minimise any disruption this may cause.

"The strikes are in response to an ongoing restructuring process taking place within UHI’s executive office and do not relate to our academic partners including colleges.

"As part of our long-term strategy, and in response to a forecast financial deficit, we are having to find £4 million in cost savings, of which £3 million are staff costs. Our collective consultation has now closed and around 28 roles have been identified for redundancy.”

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