Despite the implementation of a voluntary severance scheme, the university has only achieved 70% of its target for academic staff job cuts.
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00:00Newcastle University is currently experiencing ongoing industrial action in response to its
00:06plans to reduce its budget by £30 million, which could lead to the loss of 300 jobs.
00:13Despite the implementation of a voluntary severance scheme, the university has only
00:17achieved 70% of its target for academic staff job cuts.
00:22Although it reports that severance targets for non-academic staff are on track, these
00:27cuts are part of the university's efforts to address a significant financial shortfall,
00:31which includes a £35 million deficit attributed to a decline in international student enrolment.
00:38In an attempt to reduce costs, the university has announced that it intends to achieve a
00:42large portion of the necessary savings through voluntary severance.
00:47They are currently on their second week of these strikes.
00:51University and college union representatives argue that no redundancies are necessary from
00:55a financial standpoint and have criticised the university's approach, urging management
01:00to come up with a more meaningful offer.
01:03Mark Perry, the UCU manager branch chair at Newcastle, emphasised that Chris Day, as chair
01:08of the prestigious Russell Group, should be leading by example and finding solutions that
01:13do not negatively impact the student learning experience or the livelihoods of staff.
01:20Additionally, a recent poll conducted by Newcastle University Students' Union found overwhelming
01:26support for the strike action.
01:28We also managed to speak with many students last week who feel the strikes are necessary.
01:33This indicates significant backing from the student body for the union's efforts to protect
01:37staff jobs and improve the university's financial planning without harming education quality.