First day of strike action called off at Cardiff University as talks over proposed cuts take place

Martin Shipton

Members of the University and College Union have put off the first day of planned strike action against proposed cuts at Cardiff University after a meeting between both sides was organised by the conciliation service ACAS.

The meeting, taking place on April 30, will discuss proposals unveiled by the university on January 28 that included the cutting of 400 jobs and the closure of five of the university’s Schools, including Nursing and Music.

Gesture of goodwill

The union has issued a statement that says: “Cardiff UCU representatives will sit down with Cardiff University bosses in a meeting chaired by the Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service (ACAS) on April 30. As a gesture of goodwill, and to allow time for members to consider any possible outcomes from these talks, the union has suspended the first day of its planned strike action on May 1.

“All other planned industrial action is still set to go ahead. This includes an indefinite marking and assessment boycott (MAB) and action short of strike (ASOS) beginning on May 6. May 6 will also be a strike day, followed by six further all-out strike days in June.

“The key demand of this industrial action remains to make Cardiff University bosses reconsider what union leaders have called their ‘cruel and unnecessary’ cuts and specifically to rule out compulsory redundancies for the 2025 calendar year.

“Employers have been forced to offer talks due to the strength of the mandate and proposed industrial action. In a statutory ballot 83% of Cardiff UCU members’ votes backed strike action, and 86% backed action short of a strike up to and including an assessment boycott (64% of members voted, giving the Union a mandate which far exceeds the anti-union 50% threshold for industrial action). This is the biggest mandate in the branch’s history.

“Cardiff University management has been faced with fierce public scrutiny and condemnation of both their proposed cuts and how they have been undertaken. Academic staff, such as the former Education Minister Professor Leighton Andrews, have spoken out about the confusing and messy way the process has been handled so far, and petitions to save departments earmarked for closure have garnered thousands of signatures – from celebrities such as Ed Sheeran to globally renowned scholars.

“Moreover, the Chair of the Children Young People and Education Committee in the Senedd has summoned senior university leaders to account for their decisions following a multi-million-pound bailout provided by them earlier this year. Senior leaders have sought to avoid Senedd scrutiny, however, and have delayed appearing before the committee.

Counterproposal

It continues: “Cardiff UCU submitted a counterproposal to management in March that outlined an alternative vision of the university, promoting academic excellence and financial sustainability. At its core is a plan to draw on existing cash to fund a longer recovery which avoids job cuts, negative impacts on students, and further reputational damage.

“A marking and assessment boycott, which is deemed a form of ‘action short of a strike’,’involves university workers carrying out most professional duties but refusing to do tasks that relate to marking and assessing student work (such as setting exams, marking, and administering assessment for exam boards so that students can progress to the next stage of their studies or, in the case of final year students, graduate at all).

“The last time UCU members at Cardiff used this disruptive form of industrial action was in 2023, as part of a UK-wide campaign about pay and conditions. Senior managers at the University privately acknowledged that the severe disruption caused by this assessment boycott was comparable to that caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In retaliation, university bosses docked 50-100% pay of staff participating in the boycott, despite staff still performing all other parts of their jobs. Some students were invited by the university to graduate without knowing their degree classifications, or even if they’d passed. For many of those who did get their grades, the university lowered academic assessment standards so much that they were accused of letting students graduate with ‘bargain basement degrees’.”

Assessment boycott

UCU indicated that even at this early stage of planning, at least 160% more members with marking duties have agreed to take part in an assessment boycott this time around. Hundreds more are already pledging to donate a percentage of their wages to a local solidarity fund to support those hit by any punitive wage deductions and even more have promised not to cover work for those engaging in the boycott. The union nationally has also confirmed that Cardiff members will be able to access its national strike fund for financial support. The two other campus unions, Unite and Unison, have also agreed to instruct their members (mainly professional services support staff) to not cover work for UCU members engaging in industrial action.

Cardiff University UCU branch president Dr Joey Whitfield said: “After three months of uncertainty and fear at Cardiff University, levels of trust in leadership are very low amongst our members. This meeting represents a glimmer of hope that managers are seeing that their programme of rapid and destructive cuts is not necessary. But the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. We are not celebrating anything yet.”

“Our independent analysis of the university’s finances shows that making staff redundant as part of such a rapid restructuring exercise is not needed. We can turn the university’s finances around over a longer period and avoid this kind of pain. In the context of the havoc created by the plans to close courses our demand remains modest: a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies this calendar year. If this is not met, then our members may have no choice but to follow through with industrial action.”

A Cardiff University spokesperson said: “We welcome UCU’s decision to suspend the first day of their planned strike action, and that they have accepted our offer of ACAS facilitated talks. We are hopeful these discussions will mean we can avoid compulsory redundancies at Cardiff University this calendar year (2025) – a key UCU demand and something that requires us working together to achieve.

“We have always been clear, compulsory redundancies are the last resort. Whilst they can never be completely ruled out, we will do everything possible to avoid them. Throughout the current and on-going consultation there has already been substantial changes to our proposed plans.

“We hope these new talks will prevent further planned strike action and the inevitable disruption for our students and staff and help us agree a way forward to secure the university’s long-term future.”