Staff at the University of Aberdeen are set to begin eight days of strike action after the University and College Union (UCU) claimed management rejected a proposal that would have guaranteed job security for six months. The industrial action is scheduled to start on Wednesday.
The UCU branch at the university criticised the employer for refusing to guarantee that no staff would be placed at risk of redundancy during a period of budget cuts. The union had previously offered to call off strikes in April and May and refrain from further action for six months if the university agreed to introduce voluntary redundancies and make savings from non-staff costs.
Dan Cutts, UCU Aberdeen co-chair, said: 'By rejecting our proposal to guarantee job security for six months, senior management have put staff livelihoods and the student experience at risk.' He added that the union had consistently shown willingness to engage constructively but would now oppose the plans using every available means.
Mike Williamson, another UCU official, stated: 'Last week UCU put a proposal to University of Aberdeen senior management to call off our industrial action in exchange for a guarantee that nobody would be placed at risk of redundancy for six months. Yesterday we learned that they have rejected this proposal, to the great disappointment of staff and students.'
A University of Aberdeen spokesperson said on Tuesday: 'We met with UCU representatives yesterday but disappointingly fell short of mutual agreement. We remain unable to rule out compulsory redundancy, however have committed to prioritising every possible voluntary measure in seeking to avoid these.'
