Protest at Leeds University over job cuts

About 80 jobs are at risk at the university as part of a restructuring exercise - up to 60 of them in the Biological Sciences department, and another 20 in the Healthcare faculty. Members of the Leeds branch of UCU protested against the plans on the steps of the students' union building.

Professor Malcolm Povey from the Leeds University UCU branch said: 'These plans are madness. We are talking about people who are researching cures for cancer, and training nurses for frontline jobs in the NHS. At a time when the university is expanding, has a £13.9m projected surplus and more students than ever are trying to go to university, to make these cuts seems crazy.'

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'All around the country we are seeing similar knee-jerk reactions from vice-chancellors to the tough economic times. All too often these ill-thought through plans focus on axing jobs, even though student demand for university is rising. We have called on the employers' organisation to sit down with us and draw up a national agreement on redundancies to ensure that all other options are explored before job losses are announced and that no vice-chancellor can arbitrarily wield the axe.'