University staff to strike for 14 days in March
Matt PerryStaff at a university will strike for 14 days in March amid its attempts to plug a £35m shortfall, leading to job losses.
The University and College Union (UCU) said staff at Newcastle University were taking industrial action to "put pressure on university bosses in negotiations over 300 redundancies".
Prof Matt Perry, UCU representative and an academic at the university, said: "Those responsible at the top are making staff pay for their failures."
Newcastle University said it was "extremely disappointed" and would be putting measures in place to "maintain academic standards".
Industrial action follows the university approving a £20m reduction in its salary bill - the equivalent of about 300 jobs.
It said the cuts would be made using voluntary redundancies, although could not rule out compulsory job losses.
Recruitment and promotion freezes have also been signed off, as well as travel restrictions.
The university said it wanted to work "constructively" with unions to "build a more sustainable future", while also supporting "colleagues throughout this challenging time".
UCU said there was another projected round of cost savings planned for next year.
"There may only be a temporary reprieve for those currently out of the firing line," it said.
'Recipe for recession'
The union said strikes would take place on:
- 4 and 6 March
- 6, 10 and 11 March
- 17 to 20 March
- 24 to 28 March
Staff will also take continuous action short of strike from 4 March.
Industrial action follows the university also saying it was in the "very early stages" of opening a new campus in India.
A spokesperson said it was working to "address financial pressures" like other universities across the UK.
"[This] is why our senior management have been exploring opportunities overseas including a possible campus in India," they said.
Prof Perry said: "Gambling on the international student market and expansion through new buildings is going to cost our jobs unless we do something about it."
He said planned cuts at Newcastle University, as well as those planned at Sunderland and Durham, were a "recipe for recession" in north-east England.
"We need more young people in our universities not less," he said.