Union members at the University of Lincoln have declared “no confidence” in their senior leadership team while further strikes have been threatened at Northumbria University as concerns mount over job cuts in the English sector.
Northumbria has become embroiled in a fresh dispute after facing a fierce battle with staff over its plans to encourage them to switch pensions from the more expensive Teachers’ Pension Scheme to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, which ended last month with around half agreeing to the move.
The University and College Union (UCU), which went on strike for 13 days over the pensions changes, has threatened to strike against plans to save £5 million that the union said would result in the loss of around one in 10 jobs “before Christmas”.
Departments affected were geography and natural sciences; engineering, physics and maths; humanities; theatre and performance; and design, UCU said, adding that the university management had “refused to rule out compulsory redundancies”.
“Staff at Northumbria University have already been subjected to attacks on their pensions and working conditions,” said Jo Grady, the union’s general secretary.
