Letter: Middlesex job truth

Marie Owens's claim that 90 posts have been lost "mostly through not filling vacancies" is incorrect (Letters, THES , March 22). Since June, there have been 43 voluntary redundancies, two involving academics "volunteering" after being selected under university redundancy procedure. Of the other seven academic staff selected, four have been redeployed and at least two more academics have moved voluntarily to retraining programmes. Five administrative staff applied for redeployment. This is 55 of the 90 posts lost.

The nine selected for restructuring had been designated as redundant and would have been made compulsorily redundant. Through negotiations, we got the six staff under threat of compulsory redundancy either redeployed or reinstated. This is largely due to the solidarity of and industrial action taken by union members.

Norah Carlin
Natfhe
Middlesex University