Uni union hits out over £4m cuts

The UCU accused employers of failing to consult with staff over the cuts

A union representing academic staff has warned the University of Stirling to "get its house in order" over job cuts.

The University and College Union made the comment after the university revealed it needed to save £4m.

University officials have said they are hopeful the savings would come from voluntary redundancies.

However, the UCU said the employers had known in February that redundancies were possible but had failed to consult with staff on the issue.

It is understood information detailing a voluntary severance scheme was given to all staff members at the university last week.

Management has blamed a "changed funding regime" caused by increasing pressure on the public finances for the savings.

David Bleiman of the UCU, which represents lecturers and researchers, said the university's strategy and resources committee noted on 24 February that redundancies were a real possibility.

'Proper consultation'

He added: "It is therefore astonishing that even now, four months later, the university has failed to commence legally-required consultations to avoid such redundancies.

"Instead, while not threatening compulsory redundancy, the university has rushed ahead with a half-baked voluntary severance scheme.

"This has been done without negotiation, proper consultation or an equality impact assessment and with a ludicrously short time frame for staff to express interest."

Employers at the university are due to meet on Monday 22 June to discuss cost-saving measures.

A spokesman denied they were not complying on staff consultation and said employers were looking to identify a range of areas where savings could be made.

He added that it would take until the end of July before they were able to assess how successful the voluntary redundancy scheme had been.

He said: "It's possible that we may then have to consider compulsory redundancies but not if we can possibly avoid it."