Public services union, UNISON, has been advised by Cardiff Met that the university must make millions of pounds worth of savings over the next five years and that voluntary redundancy is being offered to all permanent staff. One hundred jobs are at risk as the university looks to save £10.5m by 2022/23.
UNISON branch secretary Phil Sefton said,
“We will be saying to the university that it is essential to protect the quality of education and student support. As a trade union, we’ll be defending employees terms and conditions. Lower paid support staff work as hard as they possibly can to make the university a success and we must not bear the brunt of these redundancies.
“When you think about Cardiff Met’s value to the local economy and the fact that a number of Welsh universities have now announced redundancies, the Welsh government should consider whether intervention is necessary. As places of learning the Higher Education sector in Wales demands protection.”
The University of South Wales, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Aberystwyth and Bangor universities have all initiated a large redundancy programme or said that mass job losses are likely and this has been portrayed as a consequence of Brexit. Whilst it is true a decline in applications from EU students is significant, UNISON has said it is one of several factors and the UK Conservative government has actively sought to substantially reduce foreign student numbers. The Conservative’s forced marketisation of universities in England has also created severe financial challenges for the Welsh Higher Education sector.