University of South Wales staff ballot on industrial action

Martin Shipton

Members of the University and College Union are holding a consultative ballot to see if there is support for industrial action against job cuts proposed by the University of South Wales.

In a letter to union members at the university, the UCU branch committee recommends a Yes vote.

The letter states: “UCU has responded with deep disappointment to USW’s announcement of 200 redundancies.

“Although the voluntary redundancy option with an enhancement was welcomed, the window of just 15 business days was severely restrictive at a time when academic colleagues were already under considerable pressure with teaching and marking commitments. UCU is also seriously concerned that compulsory redundancies have not yet been ruled out, particularly given that the university’s Executive has continued to award itself pay increases over the past few years despite pursuing constant cost-cutting and restructuring to the detriment of academic staff and the students we serve.

“Indeed, the Executive have demonstrated that they have no interest in listening to their staff as they continue to pursue the same failed policies despite the recent engagement survey that overwhelmingly demonstrated that staff at USW have no faith in how the university is being led.
“UCU had repeatedly warned the Executive that USW has shed thousands of Welsh students, with Welsh undergraduate numbers falling by over 50%, and that pursuing volatile international markets was not a sustainable solution. Those warnings went unheeded, and it is now the front-line staff, those who work tirelessly to facilitate an outstanding student experience, who are paying the price with their livelihoods.

“The leadership at USW have demonstrated no creative capacity or vision of the future and have resorted to simplistic salami-slicing of academic staff without seriously considering other options.

“Compounding these concerns, UCU fears that the Challenge Based Curriculum (CBC), initially presented to staff as a vehicle for growth, will result in further job losses and deepen the crisis at USW still further, while students are offered a poor experience based on curriculum development principles that are juvenile and an affront to academic standards.

“Meanwhile, our members face a labour market in which academic posts are virtually non-existent.

“UCU calls on the Executive and Board of Governors to rule out compulsory redundancies immediately.

“We urge our members to vote Yes to industrial action in this consultative ballot as the Executive is not prepared to listen and only direct action will make them change course.”

Compulsory redundancies

The branch committee is campaigning for a Yes vote to send a message to management that members are opposed to compulsory redundancies, and to enable the committee to declare a formal trade dispute and instigate a statutory ballot for industrial action if the university pursues compulsory redundancies.

The consultative ballot will close on Wednesday 6 May 2026 at 12 noon.

One member of staff from the Treforest Campus told Nation.Cymru: “USW has got caught in a culture of mismanaged decline. It has cut away all of the flesh and is now cutting into the bone. We are not allowed to have any initiative or creativity to develop our subjects towards what we know as professionals are the needs of the academic market. Instead it’s one size fits all, with nothing new allowed.

“Merthyr College is part of the USW empire. In a few years it will be larger in its student numbers than the rest of the USW combined.”

Sector-wide difficulties

A University of South Wales spokesperson said: “Like many universities, we are responding to sector-wide difficulties including declining participation rates, rising operating costs, and changes in policy which continue to provide a challenging financial environment. As a result, we have had to consider how we can reduce our overall cost base whilst developing targeted opportunities for growth.

“Following careful consideration and constructive discussions with our trade unions, we opened our latest voluntary redundancy programme last month. Our objective is to minimise compulsory redundancies wherever possible however we have been clear that this may not be avoidable.

“We are doing what we can, including reviewing vacancies, to minimise any impact. These are difficult decisions and ones that are not taken lightly, but are necessary in order to maintain our financial sustainability. We will continue to work closely with our trade union representatives as we work through plans.”