UCU members across the country are taking part in and voting for strike action as more universities announce job cuts, reports Jamal Elaheebocus

The turmoil in higher education that began earlier this year has continued to worsen, with announcements of job cuts from universities across the country in the last couple of months. Counterfire reported last month on strikes at Newcastle, Brunel and Dundee universities; workers at Brunel have just finished 15 days of strike action with action short of a strike continuing until 11 August. Since then, more institutions have announced job cuts and UCU members are voting for strike action in swathes.

Newcastle

Following 14 days of strike action throughout March, UCU members at Newcastle University have announced 21 more days of strike action following the Easter break. This is in response to the University’s plans to axe around 300 jobs in an attempt to slash its wage bill by £20 million. Alongside the existing voluntary redundancy scheme, Newcastle University is aiming to slash wages by £1.8 million in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, £1.4 million in the Faculty of Medical Sciences and £1.7 million in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering. 

David Bates, branch secretary of Newcastle University UCU, said: ‘Staff at Newcastle are angry and determined. We have each other’s backs: we are sticking together to defend jobs and the future of higher education.’

Cardiff

Cardiff UCU members voted emphatically for strike action, with 83% voting to strike and 86% voting for action short of a strike on a 64% turnout. This is in response to senior management at Cardiff University, the largest university in Wales, attempting to implement some of the most severe job cuts in the sector, with a proposed 400 academic job losses and cuts to administrative staff planned. This would result in the complete closure of the Schools of Nursing, Music and Modern Foreign Languages, department mergers and job cuts in almost every other school.

These plans are part of the University’s attempt to achieve a 12% operating surplus, despite it sitting on £188 million in reserves which Cardiff UCU argue should be used to save jobs and reduce the impact on students.

Cardiff University UCU branch president Dr Joey Whitfield said: ‘This ballot result shows Cardiff staff are utterly opposed to the cruel and unnecessary cuts management are trying to force through. It’s time for Cardiff University leaders to listen to staff, and the huge amount of public, political, cultural, and community support we have built, before they further damage the University’s tattered reputation.”

Cardiff University UCU will be on strike on the 1^st and 6^th of May, 9^th of June, and from the 23^rd to the 27^th of June.

Durham

Workers at Durham University have voted for strike action in response to attempts to cut 200 professional service jobs by the end of this academic year. 72% voted for strike action and 81% backed action short of a strike on a 64% turnout, the highest Durham UCU has ever seen. UCU members are now deciding what action they will take in response to the proposed £20 million cuts. 

Durham UCU Co-president, Dr. Sara L. Uckelman, said: ‘Redundancies are a choice, not a necessity. The employer’s refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies leaves us with no option but to undertake industrial action to protect our colleague’s jobs, colleagues who provide the backbone infrastructure that allows our university to function smoothly, from providing vital research and teaching support, to taking care of the health and well-being of our students, to filling our libraries, to ensuring that our buildings are kept safe and clean for both staff and students.’

Ballots elsewhere

In response to a massive £140 million of proposed cuts, UCU members at the University of Edinburgh are being balloted on industrial action, with voting finishing on 20 May. This follows a strong Yes vote in the consultative ballot held by the branch, with 75% voting to strike and 85% voting for action short of a strike.

An indicative ballot has opened for UCU members at University of Nottingham, where management have announced 258 professional service job cuts. 300 staff have already left last year via the voluntary redundancy scheme. The ballot will close on 9 May.

Elsewhere, staff at University of East Anglia are in dispute with management over 190 proposed job cuts, and UCU members at Birmingham City University and Sheffield University are currently voting on strike action in response to proposed job cuts. 

Cuts continue

While many vote for and take strike action, other university managements are announcing more job cuts. The latest of these is the University of Derby, where half of the most senior academics are at risk of losing their jobs. The 35 job cuts follow voluntary redundancies which have already resulted in several senior staff leaving the institution.

The University of Lincoln is warning of redundancies in ‘a significant new phase of organisational restructuring and reform’. Management was unable to rule out compulsory redundancies. More than 5% of the workforce at Queen’s University Belfast is at risk of job cuts, as management announce a voluntary redundancy scheme to cut 270 jobs. UCU members have accused management of not properly consulting the union on these cuts, which is a legal requirement when 20 or more redundancies are announced.

Leadership from below

A crisis like this needs a national response and it is encouraging that rank and file members at several universities, including Goldsmiths, Queen Mary and Liverpool, held a cross-branch meeting to discuss how to push for a national dispute with the Secretary of State for Education. The UCU leadership urgently needs to declare a national dispute to give workers the best chance of fighting back against these brutal cuts.