Staff at Goldsmiths, University of London have voted to take strike action over plans to cut more than 100 academic jobs, but a union dispute at Northumbria University could soon be over after the institution ruled out compulsory redundancies.

Eighty-seven per cent of University and College Union (UCU) members who voted at Goldsmiths said yes to strikes and other forms of industrial action 鈥� including a potential marking boycott 鈥� on a turnout of 69 per cent.

The university has聽begun a consultation on plans聽to reduce its staff team by 91.5 full-time equivalent posts, with more than 130 jobs impacted in total.

UCU said cuts on this scale would halve the number of academics in the Schools of Arts and Humanities; Culture and Society; and Professional Studies, Science and Technology.

探花视频

Subjects including history and sociology would be worst affected 鈥� losing half their staff teams 鈥� with more than a third of English and creative writing academics also departing.

High-profile academics at Goldsmiths 鈥撀�including children鈥檚 book author Michael Rosen聽鈥� have vocally opposed the plans, which come less than two years聽after a previous聽10-month-long dispute was finally resolved.

探花视频

Frances Corner, warden of Goldsmiths, said earlier this week that the university was having to make difficult decisions 鈥渂ecause of a funding model that is widely acknowledged to be unfit for purpose鈥�.

She said creative institutions had 鈥渂orne the brunt of chronic underfunding of arts in schools鈥� which was impacting students鈥� university choices, but Goldsmiths was 鈥渇ully committed to retaining the arts, humanities and social sciences as core elements of our educational offer鈥�.

However, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said the cuts being proposed at Goldsmiths were 鈥渁lmost incomprehensible鈥� and therefore it was 鈥渘o wonder that staff have overwhelmingly voted for industrial action鈥�.

鈥淚f management succeeds in steamrolling these devastating cuts through, Goldsmiths will be unrecognisable from the great creative powerhouse it currently is,鈥� Dr Grady added as she warned the college could soon face 鈥渦nprecedented industrial unrest鈥� unless聽management 鈥渢hink again and work with us to protect courses and jobs鈥�.

At Northumbria, the UCU branch said it was considering ending its dispute after the university鈥檚 vice-chancellor, Andy Long, confirmed to staff on the 28 March that it was now in a position to 鈥渇ormally rule out the possibility of compulsory redundancies鈥� for academic staff.聽

探花视频

The university has been seeking to聽slash staff costs to save 拢12.5 million聽and will instead make up the money via voluntary severance and early retirements.

UCU at Northumbria had聽opened a strike ballot聽after the university鈥檚 management previously declined to rule out compulsory redundancies and claimed the development was a 鈥渢estament to the strength of its members鈥� industrial organising鈥�. The branch will now consult its members with a recommendation to end the dispute.

The union鈥檚 regional official, Jon Bryan, said it was a 鈥渟hame鈥� the announcement had not come sooner but will 鈥済ive comfort to many people who have been rightly concerned about their livelihoods鈥�.

探花视频

He called on Professor Long to go further and rule out compulsory redundancies for all the university鈥檚 staff and reconsider the plans for cuts in general.

A Northumbria University spokesperson said it had always been the aim to avoid compulsory redundancies as part of its cost savings work.

鈥淏ecause of the progress we have made in this work, Northumbria University is now able to rule out possibility of compulsory redundancies for academic colleagues in relation to our current cost management exercise,鈥� they added.

鈥淲e are also continuing to do all that we can to avoid compulsory redundancies within our professional support staff and we are very confident that the actions we are taking will make this achievable.鈥�

探花视频

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com