Strike action by university staff in job cut row

People banged drums and carried placards as action was taken

University staff staged a rally as they began five days of strike action in a dispute over job cuts.

The University and College Union (UCU) is fighting plans to merge the schools of humanities and social sciences at Keele University, which it said would result in the equivalent of 24 full-time jobs being cut.

The union, whose members marched on Monday, said "they're moving to compulsory redundancies, which is a red line for us".

Keele stated it needed to take action to reduce costs due to increased competition for UK students and uncertainty over international student recruitment.

Acting chair of the UCU committee at Keele, Daniela Plana, said it "fundamentally" disagreed with "the university's reasoning".

Dr Plana added: "We believe that while higher education is facing difficulties at the moment, when you look at the particular circumstances at Keele, those arguments don't apply here.

"Income from student tuition has been increasing over the last 10 years or so, while staffing costs, when you take inflation into account, have been stable."

UCU members accept the university is facing financial challenges but said these were linked to issues, such as increasing managerial costs.

Dr Plana stated the job cuts would leave the university without enough staff to teach some courses properly, which could damage Keele's reputation for high levels of student satisfaction.

Five days of strike action have started in a dispute over job cuts

Just over half of UCU's members at Keele took part in a ballot over industrial action, with 75% supporting the strike.

The university has previously said UCU members who had voted for strike action equated to about 5% of its workforce.

It acknowledged potential staff losses would cause 'uncertainty and worry' for staff and students, but insisted it had to act 'to protect the university's long-term future'.

Prof Kevin Shakesheff joins Keele from The Open University

Meanwhile, Prof Kevin Shakesheff has been announced as the new vice-chancellor of the university.

He joins Keele from The Open University where he is the pro vice-chancellor for research and innovation, leading the university's institutional plans for research, commercial activities and scholarship.

Prof Shakesheff, who began his career as a pharmacist, will take up the post on 1 September when the outgoing vice-chancellor, Prof Trevor McMillan, retires after a decade in the role.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.