Union gauging support for industrial action amid Newcastle University funding gap

The prospect of industrial action at Newcastle University has taken a step closer as academics are balloted on the impact of £35m of spending cuts and possible strike action.

Newcastle University's University and College Union (UCU) branch has launched a consultative ballot to gauge the levels of support for strike action and consider the impacts of £35m worth of cuts in university spending on academic staff.

In late September, Newcastle University's vice chancellor, Professor Chris Day, emailed staff to say that due to declining international students numbers the institution was facing a £35m shortfall. While £15m of "mitigations" had been found in its annual budget, University bosses still had to find savings of £20m.

Implemented cuts include restrictions on travel, the halting of promotions for academics, and a review into all "capital projects" including building work and equipments. A voluntary redundancy scheme, which is understood to have now closed, was also announced for academic staff.

Now, the university's UCU branch is balloting members on to see if there is sufficient support for a further vote on striking.

Professor Matt Perry, Newcastle University's UCU branch chair said: "Our concern and the concern of our members is the voluntary redundancy scheme is not going to mend these cuts. There are other measures that have been introduced that are causing considerable detriment.

"Subject to being business critical there is a recruitment freeze and promotion freeze, and not replacing posts. These measures interrupt teaching and research, it has caused a lot of problems.

"There are a number of members who simply didn't get any work in August and September and we worry there will be another wave of members not getting work in the new semester in February.

"There is a lot of pain from the financial mismanagement of the institution, expecting more international students than you got and sticking to an over optimistic budget and carrying on with capital spend and not dipping into reserves or reining in executive fat cat salaries. That means we have had a number of meetings and we are launching a consultative ballot."

A Newcastle University spokesperson said: "Like many other universities, we are managing the impact of a shortfall in income for this year. We recognise that the cost-saving measures we have implemented will inevitably have an impact on colleagues. We continue to listen to their concerns and are doing all that we can to support them.”

Professor Perry went on to say there requires to be a significant overhaul in how universities and higher education is funded on a government level. Universities across the region and the country are facing job cuts and tightened budgets including Sunderland and Northumbria in recent times.

According to the UCU one in ten academics could see the end of their employment at Sunderland University.

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