Staff at Durham University taking strike action in a row over job cuts
UCU members are walking out today, tomorrow and next Thursday
Staff at Durham University are taking strike action in an on-going dispute over what they say the 'refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies.'
Members of the University and College Union are walking out today, tomorrow and next Thursday (19th).
Katie Muth is from the UCU and an academic at Durham University and she said: "Durham University has repeatedly refused our request that they commit to no compulsory redundancies, as they seek £20m in reduced staff costs over the next two years. This is where we're at and this is why we're taking action.
"Most recently we said that we would recommend that staff take no further strike action through the summer over our current mandate for action. If the University could guarantee no compulsory redundancies through just December 2025, they declined that request without even a counter offer.
"Management could have ended this strike action before it started. We asked them just a couple of weeks ago to rule out compulsory redundancies just through this year and they said no, and that was an opportunity to cut this short before it started. They can stop this at any time by ruling out compulsory redundancies and committing to a reset of industrial relations at Durham."
Durham University said: "Durham UCU know there are no current plans for redundancies. We have met our savings target through voluntary means, as we always said we would. This action is unnecessary.
"Exams have finished. Assessment processes will proceed as planned."