We want to thank you for signing the Change.Org petition to End the unnecessary redundancies at Newcastle University. This petition was part of a range of forms of powerful collective action. The good news is that our management have now withdrawn that threat of compulsory redundancies this year, and promised to end their plans for ‘workforce re-sizing’ next year, also making key commitments on workload and casualisation. This is a significant victory.

This was achieved through 40 days of industrial action, and also by many colleagues leaving the university through voluntary severance or redundancy packages. Many others have taken wage cuts to protect each others’ jobs – in a number of parts of the university, groups of colleagues have shown amazing solidarity by banding together with each taking a reduction in hours to prevent anyone being forced out. 

Most UK universities are facing job losses and restructuring. Over a dozen branches of UCU are currently in dispute. We stand in solidarity with them. Please support their struggles. We hope that we have shown how serious industrial action and other forms of solidarity can defend higher educational provision. 

Ultimately, the government needs to intervene to resolve the existential threat to our universities. Higher Education’s funding model is broken. Those who run universities are seemingly only accountable to their friends who sit on governing bodies. Their risk-laden agenda offers job losses, alongside merged services, joint ventures with the private sector, new halls of residence, international campuses. It threatens universities with collapse. The damage being done is palpable. Instead, universities need to refocus on supporting and securing staff, and enabling them to do what they do best - educating the next generation.