Uni boss in no confidence vote over £25m job cuts

UCU members at Swansea University said they had no confidence in vice chancellor Prof Paul Boyle

Staff at a Welsh university have delivered a vote of no confidence in its vice chancellor over job cuts.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Swansea University, said it had no confidence in Prof Paul Boyle after a vote last Wednesday.

The vote was triggered by the announcement of £30m-worth of cuts at the university this academic year, £25m of which will come from staff costs.

Swansea University said it was working hard to ensure essential savings did not adversely affect its "core mission".

Estelle Hart, president of Swansea UCU said cuts were creating an "impossible working situation for staff".

She said: "This vote reflects the anger and frustration felt by our members who are facing yet another year with the threat of redundancy hanging over them while they are expected to deliver more and more with less and less."

Swansea UCU added nearly 400 staff had left the university as part of a voluntary severance scheme alongside the removal of almost 200 vacancies.

It said it did not believe the "financial crisis" could be solved through more job losses.

In a statement, Swansea University said: "We are deeply aware of the impact that this may have on our staff community and our priority throughout this process has been to support our colleagues.

"We also continue to engage meaningfully with our recognised campus unions as we explore all available options to meet the financial requirements of the coming year.

"We are working hard to ensure that any essential savings do not adversely affect our core mission."