University workers may strike over cuts
CARDIFF University faces possible industrial action by lecturers and other staff over job losses and work load.
The University College Union Cardiff executive said two ballots for action will be held in the new year – one over local job losses and one over workload nationally.
The Cardiff University College Union executive committee has written to vice-chancellor Colin Riordan formally declaring a trade dispute over what they say is his failure to provide assurance that cuts announced earlier this month will not lead to compulsory redundancies.
In the face of a projected £21m deficit Cardiff University has offered all 7,000 staff voluntary severance but is not ruling out compulsory job losses.
The UCU executive committee’s letter to the vice-chancellor says: “Having exhausted the procedures for the avoidance and resolution of disputes as set out in our recognition agreement, we have no choice but to formally declare a trade dispute over your failure to provide an assurance that there will be no compulsory redundancies.”
In another letter to UCU members the Cardiff UCU executive committee says: “Our opposition to compulsory redundancies is now in formal dispute with the university.
“The recent experiences of other UCU branches shows that if we want out jobs the best (and possibly only) way is to have an active mandate for industrial action so we can act quickly against compulsory redundancies should they be announced.”
The announcement of the trade dispute is the first step towards balloting members on industrial action.
A Cardiff University spokesman said: “We are aware of the contents of the letter.”
The UCU said it would do all it could to avoid industrial action but it must “set the wheels in motion” and “plan for the worst”.
Cardiff UCU members will now be balloted twice in January – once on the issue of local job losses and once on national issues of pay, casualisation and equality. In both ballots they will be asked if they support strike action and/or if they support action short of strike,
If members vote for industrial action it will be the second time in a year. Last year Cardiff and other universities around Wales and the UK were hit by the biggest ever strike to hit UK universities when staff walked out in a row over pension changes.
That action led to changes in pension proposals from employers. The UCU warned it will now use similar tactics to examine issues around cuts.
“One of the unions biggest strengths during the pensions dispute came from rank and file members’ own critical examination of USS and UUK’s positions on our pensions,” the Cardiff UCU executive committee’s letter to members adds.
“A group of Cardiff UCU members have recently been working to do the same locally to critically examine the university’s finances and, where necessary, challenge the analysis and narratives used by senior management to justify these and other attacks on our pay and conditions.”
Announcing the cuts earlier this month Cardiff University said in 2017-18 it has faced funding cuts of £11m, no increase in tuition fees for six years, lower growth in research income and increased staff costs.
Unions, including UCU, Unison and Unite, have accused the university of mismanagement.