Resisting Mass Redundancies at the University of Brighton

UPDATE 26/11/2023: The victimisation of our four UCU reps has ended which is great news. Strikers this week have however received payslips showing less than £100 for November, the Christmas pay packet. For many, this is the sixth consecutive month with little or no pay due to deductions for industrial action so we are keeping this justgiving page open - thanks for your continued support.

UPDATE, 10 November 2023: Striking UCU members at University of Brighton returned to work on Friday 10th November after 129 days on strike. However the dispute remains live with the focus now on defending the branch reps threatened with victimisation, and members are still faced with deductions for taking strike action so we will leave this justgiving page open as donations towards our strike hardship fund remain extremely appreciated - thanks to everyone for your solidarity - and the struggle continues, albeit in a new form - for more details on the end of the dispute please see here: https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/ucu/2023/11/10/marathon-strike-at-brighton-university-comes-to-an-end/

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Academic staff at University of Brighton have been on indefinite strike since early July against the University’s threat to sack 22 staff.

These 22 are in addition to 81 lecturers who have agreed to take voluntary redundancy. The total - 103 - represents one in ten academic staff at the University and is more than the maximum number of job losses management said they required to meet their savings target.

The loss of this many teaching staff will badly damage the education that the University is able to offer to students. Whole subject areas are disappearing and many optional modules that students were told they could choose from are being axed.

University management would rather plough money into buildings and the estate than employ staff. They have spent £50 million on buildings in the last two years and plan to spend much more this year. But buildings do not teach students - only staff do that. Brighton University already has the 94th worst staff-student ratio in the UK.

Brighton University is not safe in this Vice Chancellor’s hands. She has no strategy except to make cuts and shrink the University. In the recent National Student Survey, Brighton scored particularly badly in ‘Organisation and Management’. An overwhelming 94% of staff have no confidence in her leadership.

Brighton UCU is determined to fight to save every colleague threatened with the sack. Staff should not have to pay with their jobs for the failures of management. Our union has called for a global boycott of Brighton University and we have brilliant support from our students.

How your money will be used

Any donations will be spent on supporting members who have been deducted pay for taking strike action, with the funds raised distributed amongst striking members who are suffering particular financial hardship, focusing on those who are most in need. We will also use some funds on materials for our campaign against redundancies.

Thank you for your solidarity – together we can win this

Christian Hogsbjerg, University of Brighton UCU treasurer