Union members at Cardiff University have announced plans for a marking and assessment boycott on top of strike action in response to hundreds of academic jobs being axed.

The flagship Welsh institution provoked outrage earlier this year when it unveiled proposals to cut 400 full-time-equivalent roles, but claimed on 10 April that it had reduced this figure to 286 after giving its nursing school a reprieve from closure. The University and College Union branch has disputed this, claiming that the revised total did not include around 100 staff members who have taken voluntary redundancy.

UCU members voted last month in favour of taking industrial action and the Cardiff branch said that it would strike on 1 May. If staff demands to rule out compulsory redundancies are not met, members will begin an indefinite marking and assessment boycott on 6 May.

Seven further strike days are planned. These are 6 May, 9 June ¨C the date of a planned health and safety audit ¨C and the week of 23 June, when many university exam boards are scheduled.

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This makes Cardiff the first UCU branch to announce a marking boycott in response to the current wave of cuts, although members at Newcastle University said earlier this week that they were exploring it as an option. Cardiff UCU said that this was the ¡°nuclear option¡±.

Joey Whitfield, the Cardiff UCU branch president, said that there were ¡°ways out of this mess which protect the university and do not involve destroying hundreds of our members¡¯ lives¡±.

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¡°We are incredibly reluctant to take part in any form of industrial action, let alone a marking and assessment boycott. But the university is leaving us no choice after imposing these cruel and unnecessary cuts,¡± Whitfield said.

¡°Our message to the university executive board is clear: there is an alternative to this summer of chaos and there is still plenty of time to avoid this kind of disruption.¡±

Cardiff UCU members last participated in a marking boycott in 2023, as part of UK-wide action over pay and working conditions. The branch said that 160 per cent more members with marking duties have already agreed to down tools.

Amid the dispute over redundancy figures, the UCU branch said that yesterday¡¯s university announcement ¡°actually promised incredibly little¡±.?

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Cardiff said it was exploring proposals to save its nursing course, but on a reduced scale. The union pointed out that this remains a proposal, and that it remains dependent on securing approval from the Welsh government, the NHS, and Health Education and Improvement Wales. Nursing staff, it pointed out, were still up for redundancy.

¡°They made a very bare bones announcement, which doesn¡¯t promise that there will be jam tomorrow, it promises that maybe there will be some jam potentially tomorrow,¡± said Andy Williams, the UCU branch¡¯s media spokesman.

¡°There¡¯s nothing there yet, apart from a glimmer of hope that only exists because of the huge, inspiring fightback from staff, from the Royal College of Nursing, from UCU, from students, from politicians. They¡¯ve been subjected to massive pressure, and this is all they¡¯re able to come up with.¡±

A Cardiff University spokesperson said that the announcement of industrial action was ¡°disappointing¡±.

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¡°We will do everything we can to minimise its impact. The university will remain open and in some areas teaching, research and services will be unaffected. We recognise that these are extremely difficult and challenging times,¡± they said.

¡°However, it is important to stress that our proposals remain subject to an ongoing 90-day consultation. They aim to secure the long-term future of the university and we¡¯d urge UCU, and our other campus unions, to continue to work with us.

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¡°Compulsory redundancies will always be the last resort and we want to continue to work in partnership to avoid them.¡±

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com