Newcastle University makes £20m in job cuts after 44 days of industrial action

The University, which has been engulfed in industrial action since March, will no longer be considering the possibility of forced job losses as it has managed to reduce its wage bill by 5%. The announcement brings with it the close of the current redundancy period.

A university spokesperson said: “The university has now achieved its £20m target of salary savings in full and without the need for compulsory redundancies . This has been achieved through a combination of voluntary severance, redeployments, and a range of other mitigating measures.

“This is an immensely challenging time for universities across the UK, and we are grateful to everyone in our community for their commitment and patience as we navigate towards long term financial sustainability.

“In making these difficult changes now, we are ensuring we continue as a world-class, civic university providing leading edge research and inclusive education that is fit for the future, delivering benefits for our region and the wider world.”

The news has been met with approval from the institution’s University and College Union branch. Branch chair Matt Perry also informed the Local Democracy Reporting Service a meeting has been scheduled on Monday between the union and management to discuss the future of the dispute.

Prof Perry said: “We are very very pleased and it’s obviously the consequence of, now, 44 days of industrial action against the employer. Those people in the pools for redundancy are relieved.

“We would like to thank everyone who has supported our dispute, from members of the general public, trade unions and community organisations. It has been a demanding, long fight but we feel vindicated.”

Newcastle city centre bore witness to a national UCU demonstration on June 11, bringing union chapters from across the country to protest against Newcastle University and call for a major overhaul on how higher education is funded. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Newcastle Civic Centre before marching on to Monument for a rally in the afternoon.

At that time, according to Newcastle University, out of a total population of 6,000 staff, 257 had made the decision to leave the university through voluntary severance.  The university has come under fire from the UCU since it was revealed in September last year it was facing a £35m financial blackhole due to a nationwide decline in the number of international students.