University staff back strike action over cuts

University staff have voted in favour of strike action after their employer proposed cutting 170 full-time positions.

The University of East Anglia, based in Norwich, first announced the plans in November 2024 as part of efforts to save £11m.

The University and College Union (UCU) said that 82% of balloted members voted in favour of the action over what it described as "brutal cuts".

A UEA spokesperson said the "incredibly challenging decisions" were not "taken lightly".

A turnout of 67% voted in the ballot, which was "the highest UEA's UCU has ever achieved," according to the union.

Staff passed a motion of no confidence in the UEA's executive team in December over the same plans for redundancies.

The UEA last staged strike action over threats of redundancies in July 2023.

Nick Grant is an associate professor in international history at the UEA, and the co-chairman of the universities branch of the UCU.

He said strike action could happen as early as the end of the month.

"We want to continue to work with and negotiate with management through dispute resolution, but if we reach an impasse, we do have a clear mandate for industrial action," he added.

"We know that fewer staff means a poorer educational experience."

He added: "Staff not knowing if they're going to have a job and worrying about the future of the institution - this will only have a negative effect on the student experience."

A spokesperson for the university said it needed to identify savings to "stay on track with our financial sustainability plan" and "to secure UEA's long-term future".

In the meantime, it was moving to the next phase "which is individual consultations with staff in impacted areas".

"Compulsory redundancies will always be a last resort," the spokesperson said.

"We remain committed to high quality student education and experience, and we will work hard to limit any impact on students."

They added: "These incredibly challenging decisions have not been taken lightly and we recognise that this is really difficult news for our community."

They said the UEA was waiting to hear what the strike action would involve.

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