Covid: Northumbria University staff 'feel unsafe' about return

Northumbria staff are calling for face coverings to be mandatory once again

Staff at a North East university "feel unsafe" going back to work following the removal of Covid safety measures and could take strike action.

A poll completed by nearly 500 Northumbria University members found 75% had worries about teaching on campus in Newcastle ahead of the new academic year.

Face coverings and social distancing will no longer be mandatory.

The university said it was holding talks with trade unions.

More lectures and seminars are due to be held in-person this year rather than online as was the case in the last academic year.

The Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) said not having face coverings and social distancing as mandatory "risks threatening staff, students, and the community".

It is expected to declare a formal dispute with the university and ballot its members on potential industrial action.

'Nowhere near normal'

In a statement, the UCU described teaching face-to-face as "exciting" but also "for some, deeply concerning, as it was last year".

"Things are nowhere near 'normal' yet, and it is disingenuous and dangerous to pretend otherwise."

The union claimed some staff had been told to "do face-to-face or resign", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It added its members wanted the university to provide weekly updates on reports of Covid cases, require staff and students to have two negative lateral flow tests each week and mandate the wearing of PPE in defined situations.

The university said its protocols were "robust and either follow or exceed government guidance" and that it encouraged people to wear face coverings "inside buildings, when moving around and when in close proximity to each other".

It added enhanced cleaning and hygiene measures "remain in place across the campus" with lateral flow testing for staff and students available on-site.

UCU members at Northumbria did vote in favour of a strike last November over safety worries, though the result was confirmed shortly after the university agreed to limit in-person teaching.