Winchester staff call off strikes

Staff at the University of Winchester have suspended planned strikes after the university ruled out compulsory redundancies.

The University and College Union announced on 23 May that members will not go ahead with strikes planned for 28 and 29 May, and 3 to 5 June. The union also said it would not proceed with any other action also previously announced, which included working to contract, not covering for absences and boycotting open days.

Earlier this month, staff at Winchester voted to strike after the university said it would cut up to 55 posts. Of these, 48 had been classed as academic and research posts, according to the UCU. The university told Research Fortnight at the time that it was looking to remove “between 30 to 40 full-time-equivalent posts—through voluntary severance, redeployment and agreed reductions in contracted hours, without the need for compulsory redundancies”.