Situation universitaire, UK

Labour Research (juin 2009) rapporte ceci:

UNIVERSITY BOSSES WIELD JOB AXE
A tide of university job cuts across the country has prompted united resistance by
higher education unions the UCU, UNISON, Unite, the GMB and the EIS as well as
the NUS students' union.
The unions are demanding a redundancy avoidance agreement which the national
employers' organisation, the UCEA was, as Labour Research went to press, still refusing
to sign.
A national ballot for strike action by the UCU lecturers' union has been deferred until the
autumn term, following legal challenges.
Two thirds of all universities are said to be considering job cuts, despite a high level of demand
for higher education places and national funding settlements well above inflation. The UCU
accuses universities and colleges of cutting departments that actually generate surplus or
have excellent teaching and research, in response to the government's agenda on
specialisation.
Cardiff University is planning to axe 140 jobs and 250 courses. Stratchclyde University
has plans to get rid of 140 staff, while London Metropolitan University (LMU) is proposing
to axe at least 550 jobs, which equates to 800 staff actually at risk (one quarter of the
workforce).
The university has been hit by funding cuts and repayment demands totalling millions
of pounds following inacurate reporting of the numbers of students completing courses.
LMU unions also warn of continued outsourcing and privatisation, and attacks on union
reps, and say it could mean the "beginning of the end" for the university.