Strike ballot over multimillion-pound cuts at Newcastle

Union members at Newcastle University are to ballot for strike action over a multimillion-pound cuts package that includes a freeze on promotions.

The University and College Union said that Newcastle was looking to cut £35 million from its budget following a shortfall against projected international student enrolments this autumn.

The measures being implemented include a freeze on contractual changes and restrictions on recruitment, plus the opening of a voluntary severance scheme. The university said that non-pay budgets were also subject to additional controls, which the union said had led to restrictions on travel.

UCU said that managers had refused to rule out compulsory redundancies.

The union, which will poll more than 1,000 members at Newcastle, said that staff should not pay the price for leaders’ financial mismanagement.

“Our members refuse to pay the price for management’s unrealistic projections, bloated salaries, and misspending on buildings; we will be voting for industrial action because the cuts profoundly damage us, our students, and our research,” said Matt Perry, chair of the UCU branch at Newcastle.

“Management refuses to rule out compulsory redundancies, nor will it share its plans for the next stage of cuts, which come after the second voluntary severance package in a year.

“We want to open the books and independently assess the university’s financial situation. University management now needs to negotiate a resolution to the dispute that does not put staff in the firing line so we can avoid industrial action.”

Newcastle vice-chancellor Chris Day has put the savings target at £20 million, according to local media, which referenced £15 million of “mitigations” that were already in place in the university’s annual budget.

ITV Tyne Tees said that recruitment would only be allowed in “business critical” cases and that all capital projects would be reviewed.

A Newcastle spokeswoman said that the university was “not immune to the challenges currently affecting the UK higher education sector”.

“Like many universities, we have implemented a range of cost-saving measures, including voluntary severance schemes, tighter controls on recruitment and restrictions on non-pay budgets,” the spokeswoman said.

“These measures will strengthen our position and enable us to continue investing in our people so that we can deliver world-class education and research for the benefit of the region and beyond.

“We recognise this is a challenging time for colleagues and we are being as open and transparent as possible.”

The number of applications from international students for UK visas was down 14 per cent in 2024 compared to the year before, with the former Conservative government’s ban on dependants accompanying most learners being blamed.

However, there have been signs of a bounce-back in interest in the last month.

Sector leaders have warned that as many as 10,000 jobs could be axed in UK higher education this year, with the nearby University of Sunderland also among those cutting jobs.

In a separate announcement, UCU claimed that some Sunderland academics threatened with redundancy had been forbidden from having any “discussions with students, alumni or colleagues” about the restructure.

The union said that, when challenged, management said this stipulation would prevent “unnecessary unrest”.

Jon Bryan, a UCU regional support official, said that the restriction was “cruel”.

“It is outrageous for staff who have been threatened with the sack to effectively be gagged by the university and prevented from telling their colleagues,” he said.

UCU said that the latest restructure affected a “small team of academic staff” and was separate to previously announced plans that put 76 roles at risk of redundancy. That included 60 academic posts – equivalent to one in 10 such roles at Sunderland.

A Sunderland spokeswoman said that the university was “currently consulting on some minor structural changes which may impact on two members of staff”.

“As this consultation is happening during term time, the university reasonably requested that those involved did not communicate widely about the process until it was concluded. This request was made to minimise disruption to students and colleagues not involved in the changes; neither staff member has raised any issue with this request.

“They were encouraged to discuss the process with each other, their line managers, the dean of the faculty and HR. They were also signposted towards support services available to staff.

“Once the consultation has been concluded the university will share the outcome as appropriate.”

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com