Threatened compulsory redundancies defeated… what next?

Threat of compulsory redundancies lifted

On Friday 20 June, the Head of HR informed us that all remaining pools for redundancy had been dissolved. This means that the threat of compulsory redundancies is lifted. We should see this as a win.

A sustained campaign pays off

It is an enormous tribute to the members of this branch for the sustained campaign of industrial action, combined with rallies, political lobbying, press coverage, open letters etc that has seen off the threat of CRs.

We formally moved into a dispute with the employer on 25 October 2024, a long battle. It is a tribute to our membership and all the solidarity that we have had along the way that we have fought off compulsory redundancies. 44 days of industrial action is a remarkable feat.

The impact of our action

Our resistance pushed the timelines to redundancy. We got significantly better deals for voluntary redundancy and four rounds of voluntary severance. We made the employer nervous about the remaining pools that exposed their failures the most (over lawful unfairness from a maternity, migrant member, and narrow pool perspective). Together we pressed them on finances, on governance, and reputation, and all together this resulted in the pools finally being dissolved. Management felt the need to call an emergency remuneration committee of Council.

Compare our situation to the many, many higher education institutions that have department closures and compulsory redundancies and it is clear what a significant win this is.

A win, yes, but we need to press over workload and precarity

But the damage of the job cuts is considerable with enormous gaps in provision after losing hundreds of colleagues. So, in the coming week we hope to negotiate a decent settlement on workload, no detriment for precarious colleagues, and we want guarantees over future compulsory redundancies.  You will decide. The offer from management will be brought to the branch for a vote.  These are tricky moments.

Our dispute is not yet resolved, and industrial action continues, providing leverage in negotiations. At the branch meeting last Friday, members voted 90% in favour of pickets and teach-outs during open days on 27 and 28 June.

A win, yes, but the reballot is still important

We should be proud of what we have achieved! We cannot however forget the wider context. Higher Education is in a profound crisis. Like every other employer in the country, it is possible that our management will be back in the autumn with more threats of cuts. Management already indicated in their ‘consultation pack’ that it was a two-year plan. We have to deter them through our reballot, be better organised with more reps and new recruits. Beyond Newcastle, enacting Congress decisions, we need the union to address Higher Education’s crisis through industrial action across the UK.

Our branch has led the way over the crisis in Higher Education: next steps

• We need to continue to campaign politically over the crisis of university governance and the broken funding model in Higher Education.
• Let’s win the reballot for industrial action to deter further redundancies the coming academic (and financial) year. Post your ballot, put around the leaflets and encourage your colleagues to vote. Volunteer to do phone-banking to get the vote out.
• Consider becoming a union rep, please contact ucu.office@ncl.ac.uk.
• Encourage your colleagues to join the union. The greater the union density that we have the stronger we are.
• Be a beacon of solidarity to other branches and spread the resistance to the cuts. The invitations to speak continue to roll in.
• Be a branch continues to be effective at defending its members jobs because of a wider vision of global justice and workers’ rights from migrant colleagues, trans liberation to Palestine.

Many sections will be holding get togethers. It is worth doing this to mark the collective effort that all this has entailed.