University of Winchester staff to strike tomorrow

Staff will be picketing the university from 8am tomorrow morning. They will then begin action short of strike on Wednesday (5 June), including working to rule and refusing to cover for absent colleagues.

The action follows an overwhelming 79% of UCU members voting to strike on a turnout of 59% in a fight against plans to cut around 40 academic staff and increase workloads. UCU fears the changes will lead to unmanageable working hours.

The university claims it needs to make the cuts because of a £6m structural deficit and UCU fears there will be more to come. Staff have faced regular rounds of redundancy since 2019 and UCU said staff morale is at an all-time low.

In 2021 the university installed a statue of climate activist Greta Thunberg as part of a £50m development and described itself as "the university for sustainability and social justice". The cuts include the threatened closure of the climate and the social justice institute as well as the centre for religion, reconciliation and peace. The institute is led by Professor Robert Beckford, the university's only Black professor, whose own job is at risk. 

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'University of Winchester staff have been forced to strike because management refuses to listen and is pushing ahead with compulsory redundancies that will have a devastating impact on staff and students.

'Our members have now faced constant redundancy cycles for half a decade, leaving morale at an all-time low. We are prepared to take further strike action next semester unless management begins meaningful negotiations over its threatened cuts and punitive new workload model.'