StudentMediaWire

Higher education will be brought to a standstill if fears of job cuts are not quelled, a union has warned.

The University and College Union says its members may vote to strike if universities don’t go on record and dismiss plans to cull hundreds of academic posts.

Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, said: “The failure of the employers to react to the growing crisis has forced our hand. We need to get an agreement sorted now to stop a wide ranging cull of academic jobs without proper alternatives being considered.”

The union had given the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) until 20 April to provide a credible response to its demands for the need for a national agreement to avoid redundancies in the UK’s universities.

That didn’t arrive, so they are now balloting members, with results expected on 1 May.
Responding to news, National Union of Students president Wes Streeting said: “Given the effects of the current economic climate on the graduate jobs market, students need industrial action by university staff like a hole in the head.

“NUS has repeatedly called for all parties to handle the financial crisis in a way that minimises the negative impact on teaching and learning. It is vital that all parties get around the table to end the threat of strike action.”

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