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Staff vote for strikes at Salford University

8 June 2012

Members of UCU at the University of Salford have today overwhelmingly voted for industrial action in an increasingly bitter row over compulsory redundancies.

Over 70% (71.3%) of UCU members who voted said they were prepared to take strike action. More than four-fifths of members who voted (82.6%) said they were prepared to take action short of strike.
 
The result was announced as 500 UCU members from across the UK gathered in Manchester for the union's annual three-day conference. Members of the Salford branch will now discuss exactly what action they will take.
 
The union said strike action and action short of strike - likely to involve working to rule - were serious options, if the university refuses to reconsider its proposals. The union said the door remained open for talks, but, while it was hopeful industrial action could be avoided, members had made their feelings  clear.
 
The university has placed staff in 'redundancy pools' with dozens of jobs at risk. In the past year the institution has announced seven lots of redundancies and last month over 200 members of staff marchedacross campus to noisily protest outside the vice-chancellor's office.
 
UCU regional official, Martyn Moss, said: 'The last thing anyone wants is industrial action. However, staff at Salford University have made it quite clear that they are prepared to take action to defend their jobs and their colleagues' jobs.
 
'There is understandably a lot of worry and stress at the moment, which is reflected in today's result. We will be sitting down now to discuss the next moves in our fight against the university's plans. However, the door remains open for the university to sit down with us to resolve this without action.'
Last updated: 11 December 2015

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