UCU holds ‘alternative’ open day at Coventry University as hundreds of jobs at risk of axe

Students and staff at Coventry University have hosted an ‘alternative’ open day to protest against controversial policies and budget cuts which could lead to hundreds of job losses.

Protestors and activists at the university marched across their campus on 15 March in solidarity against the proposed budget cuts and a ‘fire-and-rehire’ policy.

The University and College Union (UCU) has warned that 340 jobs are at risk of being lost at the university due to proposed budget cuts, which were announced in December.

The union has called for the £100 million budget cut, which could threaten as many as 92 full-time academic roles and 200 other roles, to be made in “a less damaging way”.

The event […] also featured performances by local artists, as well as appearances by speakers and activists including Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana and UCU General Secretary Jo Grady

Calls have also been made for the university to halt its ‘fire-and-rehire’ policy, which the UCU claims is a “cost cutting exercise” which will threaten working conditions and result in further job losses.

The event, which was held on the same day as an open day at the university, also featured performances by local artists, as well as appearances by speakers and activists including Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana and UCU General Secretary Jo Grady.

The protest sparked controversy among Coventry University bosses, with a spokesperson expressing “significant disappointment” at UCU’s decision to hold “a protest rally deliberately targeting prospective students at the university’s open day”.

Anne O’Sullivan, a spokesperson for UCU, disputed these claims stating that the main purpose of the alternative open day was to “showcase the best of Coventry University”.

[Coventry University] were over-reliant on [international students]. Other institutions didn’t put all their eggs in one basket

Anne O’Sullivan, UCU spokesperson

She claimed that the cuts at Coventry University are occurring due to the decrease of applications from international students, saying that the university “were over-reliant on that income stream”. She added: “Other institutions didn’t put all their eggs in one basket.”

A spokesperson for Coventry University said that it respected the union’s right to legitimate protest but was concerned that the alternative event was “an extraordinary act of self-harm by the union given the clear link between student numbers, revenue, and our ability to protect employment”.

The university also disputed UCU’s claims of potential job losses. A spokesperson said that the number of students and jobs had grown, but that student-staff ratios were to be rebalanced in line with these changes.