The following motion was overwhelmingly passed at a quorate branch meeting:
This Branch notes:
• Brunel University have begun a process to “right-size our cost base”, which they claim is necessary to address current financial challenges
• Concretely, Brunel University plans savings of around £43m, with a large part of that coming from staff savings.
• This follows a year of Colleges and Departments having been asked to make considerable savings, resulting in e.g. vacant positions not being filled and fixed-term contracts not being extended
• The current plans proposed will put 130 academics and 79 professional services staff at risk of redundancy, with future plans expected to put additional professional services staff at risk of redundancy
• The current plans intend for the redundancies to come into effect February-March 2025, midway through Semester 2
• Despite 90% of our members supporting this demand in an EGM on the 1st of November 2024, Brunel University failed to agree to our demand of committing to avoiding compulsory redundancies
This Branch believes:
• Academic and professional services staff redundancies will negatively affect the ability of Brunel University to achieve the goals set out in its strategy
• The timings of these staff redundancies will significantly disrupt the quality of students’ education, and have a detrimental impact on the workloads and morale of remaining staff.
• The refusal of Brunel University to commit to avoid compulsory redundancies indicates an unwillingness to consider options beyond redundancies
• The lack of detailed financial data and forecasts, accurate data with respect to student and staff numbers, or meaningful consideration of what the plans mean for the running of the organisation and ability to achieve its vision and strategy, suggests a flawed knee-jerk response
This Branch resolves:
• This branch reaffirms its commitment to opposing compulsory redundancies
• Given Brunel University’s failure to agree to our demand of committing to avoid compulsory redundancies, this branch instructs the branch committee to move forward to a formal dispute and to prepare for industrial action unless the threat of compulsory redundancies is withdrawn, which includes an indicative and statutory ballot for one or more of the following: strike action, ASOS, marking boycott.