CARDIFF University staff have overwhelmingly backed industrial action in a fight against huge job cuts, the University and College Union (UCU) announced on Tuesday 25th March.
A massive 83% backed strike action, while 86% backed action short of a strike up to and including an assessment boycott, in a ballot that saw over 64% of Cardiff UCU members vote.
There is a jobs massacre underway in Higher Education, with thousands of compulsory redundancies being implemented at high speed in universities across the UK.
To defeat it the UCU must call national strike action across the sector and demand that the TUC supports it with a general strike to bring down the Starmer government that is presiding over it.
In its press release the union said on Tuesday that the Cardiff UCU ballot result means that staff could now down tools unless management agrees to rule out compulsory redundancies.
Staff are meeting this week to decide and vote upon next steps including the options of strike action and action short of a strike, which could disrupt student graduations this summer.
Management claims it needs to make deep cuts to balance the books, but UCU’s independent analysis of Cardiff University’s finances shows they could draw on £188m in available cash to protect jobs and student provision.
Since the cuts were announced, Cardiff University leaders have come under sustained pressure to reverse them:
- Cardiff UCU has tabled an alternative proposal for a longer, more gradual recovery – drawing on available funds without cutting jobs – which has cross-party political support in Wales;
- The Welsh government has made £19m additional funding available to Welsh universities and said they should work in partnership with UCU to avoid compulsory redundancies;
- Management has come under fire for establishing a new campus in Kazakhstan while cutting the University at home; and
- This week, Cardiff Vice Chancellor Prof Wendy Larner was criticised for delaying an appearance to be scrutinised by the Senedd’s Education Committee.
At-risk staff, many unable to speak out against the cuts because of a widely reported ‘climate of fear’ fostered by senior managers, have built a vibrant coalition in defence of their jobs, with public figures including Neil Kinnock and organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing also opposing the cuts, said the union.
Cardiff University UCU branch president Dr Joey Whitfield said: ‘This ballot result shows Cardiff staff are united in their opposition to the cruel and unnecessary cuts management are trying to force through.
‘It’s time for Cardiff University leaders to listen to staff and recognise the huge amount of public, political, cultural, and community support we have built before they further damage the university’s tattered reputation.
‘They must use the university’s £188m of available cash to fund a more cautious and evidence-based approach to improving our finances without destroying our members’ lives.
‘Industrial action is always difficult, and always a last resort, but if the university doesn’t negotiate and row back on its disastrous plans we will be left with no choice.’
UCU general secretary Dr Jo Grady said: ‘Cardiff staff are furious at the university’s refusal to work with UCU to avoid these swingeing cuts.
‘The vice-chancellor now needs to concentrate on resolving this dispute and avoiding strike action at home before thinking about opening a new campus in Kazakhstan.’
- Striking lecturers at Brunel University in Uxbridge, west London, spoke to News Line on their picket line on Tuesday morning, saying that they are fighting to defend all jobs.
The university management is seeking to make hundreds of job cuts and the UCU members have voted overwhelmingly to strike against it.
Speaking on the Brunel picket line, Stanley Gaines, psychology lecturer, said: ‘When we went to the rally in Westminster last week the idea was for the branch reps from the universities to meet up with the MPs to defend jobs.
‘My colleague and I met with the Uxbridge MP Danny Beales and spoke about Brunel University and other universities across the country and told him about our concerns about redundancies.
‘We saw a lot of support for the UCU individual institutions with many branches in dispute with senior management and the MPs said they backed us.’
Justin O’Brien, also from the psychology department, said: ‘I have worked here for 23 years and I’m one of the lecturers who are threatened with redundancy.
‘Universities are a fantastic way to bring people from different countries together.
‘The way for this country to have a positive influence around the world should not be through profit-focused business.
‘Universities are for the good of the public and we must never forget why we have universities.
‘We must do everything we can to protect students and staff who work here.’
The Brunel lecturers are on strike again today, then again on Tuesday to Friday next week and Monday-Friday, 7th-11th April the following week.
- Staff at the University of Kent have been striking every day this week over management failure to rule out compulsory job cuts, the UCU announced.
Staff at the University of Kent are striking every day this week over management failure to rule out compulsory job cuts.
Staff have been on strike from Monday until today 28th March and on picket lines from 8am-10am.
Staff are taking action after the employer refused to rule out compulsory redundancies or provide guarantees that staff will not suffer detriment to their workload or working conditions.
The university has found itself in a regular cycle of cuts to staff, courses and restructures, all of which impact the livelihoods and workloads of staff who work tirelessly to support students, conduct outstanding research and scholarship, and keep the university going.
In negotiations this year, management extended a promise of no compulsory redundancies to academic teaching staff until December 2025.
However, they would not guarantee the same for professional services staff (such as student support, marketing, and library services), some of whom are also UCU members.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘Our members are on strike today because the University of Kent has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies or protect staff workloads.
‘Management now needs to work with us to protect jobs and student provision. Professional services staff are vital to the functioning of the university and to the educational experience we want all our students to receive.
‘Until management rules out compulsory job cuts, our members have our full backing in taking this action.’
- Staff at the University of East Anglia (UEA) were on strike on Wednesday 26 March in a fight against job cuts that saw almost one in six staff put at risk of redundancy, announced the UCU.
The strike comes after an overwhelming 82% of UEA UCU members who voted backed strike action in an industrial ballot with a turnout of 67%.
Staff have also been taking action short of striking from Wednesday 26 March which includes working to rule.
The dispute is over management’s threat to cut over 190 staff to meet continued budget shortfalls at the institution.
According to the business case published in November (2024), management intends to cut at least 30 staff in the faculty of medicine & health sciences, 25 in the faculty of science, 22 in the faculty of arts & humanities, and at least 90 from departments across professional services at the institution.
This dispute follows over 400 staff leaving UEA in 2023 due to management’s projected £40m deficit in that year.
UEA UCU co-chair Nadine Zubair said: ‘UCU has served notice of a day of strike action and continuous action short of strike in our dispute over compulsory redundancies, financial and business strategy and university governance.
‘We will use our strike day to celebrate staff, to remind the employer that we are the university, that we matter, and that we have a clear and unified voice.
‘There is a real power in coming together and acting as a collective in these moments of crisis, and we need to act together to support all our colleagues who are “at risk” of redundancy.’
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘We hope UEA management begins listening to UCU and starts working with its staff body to protect jobs and student provision.
‘Our members have the full backing of their national union in continuing industrial action until management starts meaningful negotiations.’
National strike action is needed to defend all jobs and to stop the destruction of Higher Education across the UK.