Winchester staff back strike action over job cuts

Union members at the University of Winchester have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike after the university said it would cut up to 55 posts.

A spokeswoman for the university confirmed that the institution was planning to cut up to 55 jobs, “including a mix of full-time and part-time posts”. This equates to between 30 and 40 full-time equivalent posts, she said.

“Following the announcement of a voluntary severance scheme at the University of Winchester in March, we are on course to achieve the financial savings target—of between 30-40 full-time equivalent posts—through voluntary severance, redeployment and agreed reductions in contracted hours, without the need for compulsory redundancies,” she said. “We hope to be in a position to confirm this very soon.”