Members of the University and College Union (UCU) are protesting against the potential for compulsory redundancies, which form part of the university’s strategy to cut 400 full-time posts in order to save £30m.
The institution has cited increasing operational costs and a decline in international student enrolments as key factors behind the financial measures.
Union members are currently working to rule, meaning they will not cover for absent colleagues or perform duties outside their official job descriptions. The UCU has said that they believe that “around one in four staff are up for the chop”, raising concerns about the scale of the proposed workforce reduction.
A university spokesperson said that while compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out, “every effort” is being made to achieve the required savings “through voluntary means”.
The spokesperson added that the decisions being taken were “very difficult but necessary” and were aimed at maintaining “the excellent student experience we pride ourselves on”.
The UCU has criticised the university’s financial priorities, particularly its decision to continue with plans for a new campus in India. A union representative described the international expansion as a “vanity project” and questioned how much the overseas investment would cost.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “It is completely unacceptable to embark upon such a destructive programme of cuts, all while directing money to vanity projects abroad.
“Management must now open the books, tell us how many millions it has earmarked for a new campus halfway around the world, and work with us to protect jobs and student provision here in Lancaster.
“If the university refuses to do so, our members will have no choice but to escalate to strike action before Christmas.”
The university stated that the process of achieving financial sustainability was “essential to securing the university’s future” and that it recognised the “deeply unsettling time” the situation represented for both staff and students.
Lancaster University currently employs the full-time equivalent of 1,300 academic staff and 1,700 professional services staff. Its student body includes approximately 10,000 from Great Britain and the EU and a further 3,000 from overseas. It was one of seven “plate glass universities” that were founded in the early to mid 1960s. Its founding chancellor was Princess Alexandra, who retired in 2004 to become – at the time – the longest serving university chancellor in history.
Problems of this kind however are far from unique for both established and younger universities alike. It remains to be seen if the current educational climate will be able to sustain themselves in their current form, and if not, what form alternatives may take.
