Newcastle Strikes Continue as Redundancies Loom

Despite the implementation of a voluntary severance scheme, the university has only achieved 70% of its target for academic staff job cuts.

Transcript

00:00Newcastle University is currently experiencing ongoing industrial action in response to its

00:06plans to reduce its budget by £30 million, which could lead to the loss of 300 jobs.

00:13Despite the implementation of a voluntary severance scheme, the university has only

00:17achieved 70% of its target for academic staff job cuts.

00:22Although it reports that severance targets for non-academic staff are on track, these

00:27cuts are part of the university's efforts to address a significant financial shortfall,

00:31which includes a £35 million deficit attributed to a decline in international student enrolment.

00:38In an attempt to reduce costs, the university has announced that it intends to achieve a

00:42large portion of the necessary savings through voluntary severance.

00:47They are currently on their second week of these strikes.

00:51University and college union representatives argue that no redundancies are necessary from

00:55a financial standpoint and have criticised the university's approach, urging management

01:00to come up with a more meaningful offer.

01:03Mark Perry, the UCU manager branch chair at Newcastle, emphasised that Chris Day, as chair

01:08of the prestigious Russell Group, should be leading by example and finding solutions that

01:13do not negatively impact the student learning experience or the livelihoods of staff.

01:20Additionally, a recent poll conducted by Newcastle University Students' Union found overwhelming

01:26support for the strike action.

01:28We also managed to speak with many students last week who feel the strikes are necessary.

01:33This indicates significant backing from the student body for the union's efforts to protect

01:37staff jobs and improve the university's financial planning without harming education quality.