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.”

Photo credit: Creative Commons

Writing to all students’ unions, president Wes Streeting described NUS members as “clamouring for change” and admitted that the union has been out of touch.

“We have suffered from poor management decisions, a lack of clear direction, inaccessibility and structures more adapted to 1922 than 2008,” writes Streeting. “NUS has been failing to deliver on key issues.”

In April 2007, NUS attempted to pass reforms at its annual conference, a notoriously volatile meeting of student activists and union officers from across the UK. But members failed to ratify the proposals put forward.

Since then, Streeting and his supporters have been considering how to succeed with a second attempt at change. They are adament they must push through proposals they see as crucial to NUS’ survival.

In his open letter, Streeting reveals revised proposals and urges members to back him.

“Our reform proposals narrowly failed to be passed,” he writes. “Missing out on the two-thirds majority necessary. Although the margin of defeat was small, we took the opportunity to listen to our members and following the conference we began to seek feedback on the review and to get thoughts on where to go next. We have considered all the feedback, made a host of changes and are proud to announce new proposals to reform NUS.

“This reform is so important for our national union as in just a few months we will have a huge fight on our hands: to rescue our higher education system from being corrupted by market forces and to prevent a future where the most esteemed universities are only accessible to the very rich.

“We must be prepared for the battle that lies ahead. We are working hard to ensure that the cap on tuition fees is not lifted and that a fairer and less complicated system of student support and fees is implemented. We need a national union fit to win for students and students’ unions.”

“For this reason I urge you to back the proposals and encourage your elected officers to choose change, because it is time that NUS delivered.”

Photo credit: NUS/Wikipedia

NUS Vice President for Higher Education, Aaron Porter, said: “It is good news that almost 94 per cent of graduates are working within 6 months of leaving university, and we hope that this will encourage more people to enter higher education. We are, however, particularly concerned that black graduates are less likely to find work within six months than white graduates.

“These statistics offer a useful indication of graduate employability, but it would be helpful to have more detailed figures about employment a few years after graduation, with more information about the types of jobs being undertaken and whether they are ‘graduate-level’ jobs.”

The HESA stats show that 94.5 per cent of white graduates had found employment, compared to 88.2 per cent of black graduates and 90.2 per cent of asian graduates.

The full results can be found at HESA.

So far this year, 540,108 people have applied to start courses this autumn, compared with 494,842 at the same point last year.

The figures continue the trend set earlier in the year, which also showed a healthy increase.

A UCAS spokesperson said: “It is hugely encouraging to see that application figures are maintaining the strong growth that we saw at the start of the year.”

NUS, the representative body of UK students’ unions, has responded cautiously. Its president, Wes Streeting, said: “We welcome the overall rise in applications to universities and colleges. It is a positive sign that more people are aspiring to enter higher education.

“However, it must be remembered that these figures include nursing and midwifery statistics for the first time. As many of these applicants traditionally come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, it is impossible to judge the government’s performance on its widening participation agenda.

“Institutions must not be complacent when it comes to widening participation among those groups who have not traditionally attended university. They must also be careful to give a fair chance to those who have gained qualifications other than A-levels, but who may nonetheless benefit from higher education.”