Staff Meeting

A general meeting of staff and students, organised by members of staff, was held in Mary Seacole Building. Members of staff that attended were not all union members. A number of union officials from UNISON and UCU attended in order to answer staff questions as far as they possibly could.

Both staff and students were angry about the proposed redundancies, particularly in the Faculty of Health and Social Care where most of them were based.

It was felt that good courses were being targeted that were currently making money for the University. For staff there seemed to be no financial reason for this. Students were worried that their quality of education would be adversely affected, particularly if there was to be increased casualisation of staffing.

Students have not been informed about the proposals and were only finding out through rumour, unofficial channels and the Manchester Evening News.

Staff have been attempting to make alternative proposals to their management, but have no evidence that any of these have been given serious consideration. Financial data has been requested by the unions, but has not been provided by the date agreed. Many staff feel that their jobs are being cut in order to fund the Media City (UK) move.

The staff at the meeting were very angry and are proposing to stage protests about the cuts and the way that the situation is being managed.