Image: Paul Lakin [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Union seeks action over plans to cut jobs
Members of the University and College Union are to open a strike ballot at the University of Hull next week over plans the union says could result in more than 100 job losses.
The union, which says 107 employees have already left the university under a recent voluntary severance scheme, will open the ballot on 2 September, concluding on 27 September. It adds that 95 of the staff set to lose their jobs are academics, which it says would mean a loss of around one in 10 of the academic workforce.
Members angry
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said union members were “angry and will be voting yes for strike action”.
“Hull still holds large reserves and the risk of banking covenants being breached is very unlikely,” she said. “There is absolutely no need to further cut the academic workforce in this way. Management now needs to halt the redundancies, be honest about its plans and work with us to take a more prudent approach before attempting to slash jobs.”
The UCU also says that in a video circulated to staff on 17 June, Hull vice-chancellor Dave Petley revealed that the Yorkshire institution’s aspiration to be carbon neutral by 2027 has been derailed after it emerged the university would not be able to sell electricity generated at a proposed solar farm until 2034.
University response
A spokesperson for the University of Hull confirmed that staff had been told that, due to the inability of the national electricity grid to accept power from the institution in sufficient quantities, some elements of its carbon neutral strategy “will need to change”.
“We will work as a community to set ambitious but realistic targets for achieving carbon neutrality across our campus for the future and we remain committed to finding carbon neutral solutions,” the spokesperson said. “There is no link between the technical grid connection issues and the university’s need to make financial savings.”
The spokesperson added that, “in common with most universities, we are not exempt from the significant challenges faced by the higher education sector”.
“These challenges include a significant reduction in international student applications, and changes in UK student recruitment application patterns, which have led to a drop in income whilst costs continue to rise. This means we need to make savings of £23m over two years.”
The university has therefore made “some difficult decisions, including reorganising parts of the university,” the spokesperson continued.
“No decisions have yet been made. We are currently in a 45-day collective consultation with…trade unions. Proposals have been shared with all colleagues and we are now consulting on these.”