Union votes to ballot for strike action in jobs row at University of Sussex

Sussex UCU has produced proposals that include the option for staff to move to part-time hours and to take extended unpaid leave to ease the institution's financial difficulties. The union believes the plan would allow the university to make the necessary savings and avoid compulsory redundancies. It would also break the current impasse on job losses and prevent significant damage to the university's reputation.
 
University of Sussex UCU representative, Paul Cecil, said: 'We understand the financial pressures facing both the university here and the whole higher education sector. However, we do not believe that making excellent staff redundant is either necessary or sensible for the future of Sussex.
 
'Our reduced hours scheme will ensure that staff do not lose their jobs and the university does not lose the knowledge and experience that has made Sussex one of the most popular institutions in the country. UCU members here at Sussex have made it quite clear that they will ballot for action if the university doesn't step back from its current plans for compulsory job losses.'