Lecturers out on strike over job cuts plan

It’s the first of 5 days of industrial action

- Phil Corrigan

UNIVERSITY staff staged a noisy rally as they began five days of strike action in a dispute over job cuts.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Keele University banged drums and carried placards as they marched through the campus yesterday morning.

The UCU is fighting plans to merge the schools of humanities and social sciences, which it says will result in the equivalent of 24 full-time jobs being cuts.

Keele University says it needs to take action to reduce costs due to increased competition for UK students and uncertainty over international student recruitment.

But union officials have rejected the university's reasoning and claim the compulsory redundancies are not necessary.