Glasgow Caledonian University staff to strike over job cuts and compulsory redundancies

Staff at Glasgow Caledonian University are to go on strike today in a dispute over job cuts and compulsory redundancies.

It comes after officials from UNISON said talks aimed at resolving disputes concerning compulsory redundancies failed.

The strike action will affect members of the University and College Union (UCU) working at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU).

The dispute, which is taking place as Dundee and Edinburgh universities also face strikes, is over plans announced in March by senior management to cut up to 100 posts at the university despite not having a deficit.

With staff taking voluntary redundancy, the number of posts management want to cut is now approximately 50. The union said that there is no need to cut jobs and that the university is in a strong financial position, so much so that the university recently bought land in Glasgow city centre at Buchanan House Gate that was previously used by Network Rail.

The land is believed to have cost around £4.5million but, at present, the intended use is unknown by the university’s staff.

The branch claimed that making investments of this scale at the same time as cutting the staff who deliver the teaching and research central to the university’s mission shows that management’s priorities are out of step.

As well as striking today, members of the branch will also be on strike on 24 and 29 September and on 1, 6 and 8 October.

UCU members have already taken three days of strikes and members of other unions on the campus have also taken industrial action. The cuts and job losses have been raised in the Scottish Parliament with seventeen MSPs calling on the university to engage constructively with unions to end the dispute.

Karen Lorimer, GCU UCU branch president, said: “The fact that university management are investing millions in property for which the use is unclear at the same time as cutting staff simply doesn’t make sense and will be deeply offensive to those staff losing their jobs.

“We’ve engaged openly with management to try and find a way forward that doesn’t involve swingeing job cuts but with no success. GCU is in a strong financial position with operating surpluses and with cash reserves. There is no financial requirement for management to make these cuts.

“Staff here want to be welcoming new and returning students to our campus, but the refusal to rule out using compulsory redundancies means the principal and her senior management team have left us with no alternative but to strike. Before the next round of strike action next month, we urge management to reconsider, to engage meaningfully with the unions on campus and rule out compulsory redundancies so this dispute can end.”

Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said: “GCU celebrated its 150th anniversary last month which should be a time for celebration. But instead staff are having to strike to defend jobs and stop possible compulsory redundancies.

“It’s clear that the university’s financial position was and remains strong and management’s decision to spend millions on property reinforces this. It’s the staff and students that make a university, and choosing land and buildings over them throws into question the judgement of the university’s senior management.”