Sussex University staff asked to back strike action over planned job cuts
UCU says hundreds of jobs are at risk and is urging staff to vote in favour of industrial action
Staff at the University of Sussex are being asked to vote for strike action in a ballot that has opened today (Wednesday 1 July) and will run until Thursday, 13 August.
The vote comes after the university announced plans to cut 200 jobs. More than 600 staff working across academic, technical and professional services have already been told they could be at risk of redundancy.
University bosses say they need to save £35 million a year because of falling student numbers.
Although more than 500 employees have left the university over the past two years, management has not ruled out making compulsory redundancies.
The University and College Union (UCU) says there are other ways to make savings without forcing staff to lose their jobs. It is calling on the university to offer more staff the chance to switch to part-time work and reduce spending on senior management salaries instead.
According to the union, senior management pay costs the university more than £3 million a year.
It also says new senior leadership roles have been created in recent years while staff have been moved away from frontline teaching, which it believes has had an impact on students.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said:
"University of Sussex staff will be voting yes to strike action because they refuse to allow management to axe hundreds of their colleagues when there are other options on the table.
"We now need the senior management team to look to their own bloated salaries and work with us to reduce costs in a sustainable way that protects jobs and student learning."
Sussex UCU branch president Jo Pawlik said:
"The University of Sussex is an amazing institution that has built a global reputation for its diverse and critical research and teaching.
"The branch is doing everything to ensure it remains that way with staff at the heart of its future plans."
Sussex student Charlotte Fraser said:
"It’s incredibly shortsighted of management to put staff jobs at risk when they are the ones who make an education at Sussex so unique.
"We stand with those who face losing their jobs and demand that university management reconsiders its approach."