The University of Nottingham School of Physics and Astronomy showing off various cool little experiments. Photo Mike chernucha / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Nottingham University wants to cut 609 academic jobs, including many posts in its prestigious physics department. It is facing resistance from its workers.
University and College Union (UCU) members there began action short of strike including a marking and assessment boycott on 20 May, with a one-day strike on 22 May. The university imposed a 100 per cent deduction on those involved in the boycott.
This response significantly inflamed members who have now announced strike days from 1 June to 31 July.
In May it had emerged that the university aimed to cut over 600 academic jobs and close down 42 courses. This raised fears that it could lose its research-intensive status. The plan includes compulsory redundancies at the university’s prestigious school of physics and astronomy. 56 of 71 staff members in the school have been told they are at risk of redundancy, with 20 roles set to go.
Six Nobel Prize winners and BBC science presenters have criticised the move. In an open letter, which has attracted more than 2,000 signatures, they call on the university “to reverse its plans to impose compulsory redundancies”. They say it would cause long-lasting damage to the physics department, among the best in Britain.
Jim Al-Khalili, BBC presenter and emeritus professor of physics at the University of Surrey, said, “Nottingham Physics is one of the most respected and prestigious departments in the country and this proposed ‘cull’ would be both devastating and foolish.”
• A longer version of this article is on the web at www.cpbml.org.uk