Unions warn university of no-confidence vote

A union spokesperson said staff felt they had been “coerced” into redundancy

A majority of voters in a Surrey University College Union (UCU) survey supported holding a vote of no confidence in its vice chancellor, following proposed staff cuts.

Figures from an indicative survey showed 92% were in favour of the vote, while a further 96% were in favour of a vote for the executive board.

Surrey UCU has been campaigning against redundancies and financial severance proposed by the university in March.

A University of Surrey spokesperson said it was "not immune to the unprecedented financial pressures facing the UK's higher education sector".

Vice Chancellor Professor Max Lu has previously said the university would have to cut staff and assets as part of cost-saving exercises.

A UCU open letter on 11 April said the university was trying to turn a "£10m deficit" into a "£10m surplus".

'Historical borrowing'

A union spokesperson said staff felt they had been “coerced” into redundancy or were "feeling that their hand has been forced".

High inflation, soaring energy bills and overall cost of living pressures were given by Mr Lu as reasons why the university needed to reduce its expenditure.

But the UCU has argued that poor financial management in “historical borrowing and significant spending on multi-million-pound projects” by the institution undermined this.

Recent developments include the opening in 2021 of the Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI and launching a new medical school with an intake for 2024.

More than 90% of the university’s income was borrowed externally, coming second in the UK in 2021-22, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The union is meeting on 22 April to discuss next steps.

A university spokesperson said it was "hoping to avoid compulsory redundancies".

"We are looking at a variety of measures to increase income and save on costs, including offering voluntary severance to some colleagues," they added.

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