Cardiff university strikes dropped as job cuts paused

Planned strike action at Cardiff University has been called off after a pledge there will be no compulsory job losses this year

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) have approved a deal which was reached after discussions between unions and university management in a special meeting on Thursday.

The agreement does not rule out job losses beyond 2025 and a consultation over proposed cuts in some departments will continue, with details finalised in June.

Cardiff University said the agreement was a "welcome relief", but the UCU described it as a "bittersweet victory".

It comes after the union warned there would be a "summer of chaos" if the university did not back down on its proposed slashing of staff and courses.

Eights strike days and an indefinite marking and assessment boycott, due to start on 6 May, were scheduled last month.

The first strike action, timetabled for 1 May, was previously suspended after it was agreed the university and unions would hold discussions.

Industrial action as part of a UK-wide dispute in 2023 caused significant disruption and meant many students were not able to graduate for months after finishing their courses.

The university has said it was able to suspend compulsory redundancies for this calendar year "because of the number of applications for voluntary redundancy currently received".

Last month it updated the number of proposed job losses from 400 to 286, taking into account staff who had opted to leave voluntarily.

At the same time it said a controversial proposal to close the nursing department could be replaced by a new plan which would mean the university would carry on training student nurses.

But proposals to close the schools of music, modern languages, ancient history and religion and theology remain on the table, as well as plans to merge other departments.

Dr Andy Williams, of Cardiff UCU, said the agreement was a "bittersweet victory" which came about "after forcing our management back to the table with a huge campaign"

Describing the result as "really good news for students", he said there would be no industrial action under the current mandate this year, which ends in September, but that members had voted to renew the mandate.

He added: "We're still going through a lot of difficult changes and some things that need to be resisted at Cardiff University, so the prospect of further industrial action remains a distinct possibility".

Dr Williams said people were still "really worried" with "ongoing and widespread cuts" at the university having "a huge impact on our ability to do our jobs, on our health… and on our ability to provide the excellent education we feel our students deserve".

Cara, 23, who studies medicine at the university, said it was "nice" to hear the strikes had been cancelled, but she hoped staff had "got the deal that they're after".

Meanwhile, politics and journalism student Amelia, 21, said she "completely empathised" with the departments at risk of cuts, but said strikes and other industrial action could be "really disheartening" for students who had worked hard and should be a "last resort".

Fflur Evans, 20, added she felt the university had dealt with the situation "unprofessionally" and "cruelly".

"My lecturers have been there for me so much, and I'd like to think that we as students would be there for them too," said the ancient history student.

"I think it's important that we stand with our lecturers."

A Cardiff University spokesperson said: "We are very pleased that we have been able to arrive at this point, and we reconfirm our desire to work in partnership for the benefit of students, staff and our wider university community.

"We hope now to move forward with more positive and constructive talks with our campus trade unions on how we can work together to address our immediate financial challenges and secure the university's long-term future."

The consultation period ends on 6 May, with final plans to be signed off by the University Council on 17 June.

Unions have called for clarity on what the deal will mean for the more than 1,200 staff members who are currently "in scope" for redundancy.

Additional reporting by Elin Alexander