University staff vote for strike and marking boycott

Staff at Cardiff University have voted in favour of all-out strike action and a marking and assessment boycott during the summer term.

The University and College Union (UCU) said its members had responded to the university's "cruel and unnecessary" jobs cuts proposal.

In January, the university announced proposals to cut 400 staff and scrap some departments, including nursing, but has now revised this figure to 286 roles.

A spokesperson for Cardiff University called the industrial action "disappointing", and said it would inevitably cause disruption to students.

On Thursday, the university said plans to close its nursing department were on hold and fewer jobs would be scrapped across the institution than it had initially anticipated.

In a ballot, 83% of Cardiff UCU members backed strike action and 86% backed action short of a strike.

Union members have considered their options and voted for a one-day strike on 1 May.

If the situation is not then resolved, UCU said this will be followed by an indefinite assessment boycott beginning on 6 May, and seven further strike days in May and June.

In a statement, UCU said it is hoped the University's executive board will meet staff demands before any action begins.

Dr Joey Whitfield, the university's UCU branch president, said their message to executive board is clear.

He said members were "incredibly reluctant to take part" in any form of industrial action, but the "university is leaving us no choice".

"As our independent financial analysis has shown from the start, compulsory redundancies are not needed," he said.

"As we've shown with our detailed and evidence-based set of alternative proposals for improving the university's finances, there are ways out of this mess which protect the university and do not involve destroying hundreds of our members' lives."

The union said it was the biggest mandate in the branch's history.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Wendy Larner previously defended the decision to cut jobs, saying the university would have become "untenable" without drastic reforms.

The job role cuts are only a proposal, she said, but insisted the university needed to "take difficult decisions" due to declining international student applications and increasing cost pressures.

A spokesperson for Cardiff University said it would do everything it could to minimise the impact, and the university will remain open with some areas of teaching, research and services unaffected.

"We recognise that these are extremely difficult and challenging times. However, it is important to stress that our proposals remain subject to an on-going 90-day consultation," the spokesperson said.

"Compulsory redundancies will always be the last resort and we want to continue to work in partnership to avoid them."

The spokesperson also called for the UCU to provide a copy of its report into university finances, which it said provided alternatives for improving finances.