University of Bradford staff vote to strike over £16m budget cuts
Members will meet to decide upon next steps, but strike action and action short of strike could begin as soon as 12 June
Staff at the University of Bradford have voted to strike in “huge numbers” over plans to cut £16m from the budget in a move that will see “hundreds of jobs go and multiple courses close”.The University and College Union (UCU) said an “overwhelming” 82% of its members voted to back strike action in a ballot that had a turnout of 57%.
Members will meet to decide upon next steps, but strike action and action short of strike could begin as soon as 12 June unless management rules out compulsory redundancies.
The UCU said the university has not yet set out precisely where all the cuts will fall, but 230 professional service staff and over 90 academics are already at risk, and more than 200 academics also at risk in the coming weeks.
At an all staff meeting earlier this year, the university’s CFO said the aim is to reduce staffing to the level it was in 2019, which would equate to around 300 full-time equivalent jobs, and well over 300 staff once part-time roles are included.
The cuts will see chemistry and film and television courses shut down, despite Bradford being UNESCO’s first city of film and the UK’s city of culture 2025.
The vice-chancellor has been in post for five years and has a total pay packet worth over a quarter of a million pounds (£293,000). However, the UCU said she has “refused to extend the consultation period or take concrete measures that would mitigate the job losses”.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Bradford staff have overwhelmingly backed strike action because they refuse to see important courses cut, jobs axed, and staff and students pay the price for management’s financial failings.
“The proposed cuts would also harm businesses throughout the region that rely on the university and limit the cultural offer available to local students. Management needs to look at this vote for strike action and begin listening to our concerns. If the vice-chancellor continues to refuse to extend the consultation period and to rule out compulsory redundancies then we will be forced to strike.”