Cardiff University activity cuts a well being and protection disaster, says UCU

Planned activity cuts at Cardiff University have resulted in a “total health and safety crisis” with crew feeling their wellbeing has been inadequately regarded as, a union says.

Cardiff UCU has reported Cardiff University’s University Executive Board (UEB) to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a “comprehensive breakdown of trust and morale” between college bosses and crew.

The college to start with introduced that 400 jobs have been in peril and a few classes have been to be axed in the cost-saving measures, however later decreased this and pledged there can be no obligatory redundancies this 12 months.

The college mentioned it was once running to extend make stronger on be offering to crew individuals.

On Monday, the college issued an replace which mentioned 151 crew had voluntarily resigned, that means 69 full-time identical activity losses would now be wanted for it to satisfy its goal.

The union mentioned college control had failed to reply to considerations its individuals had raised, past providing “mainly cosmetic” treatments.

In the HSE referral submitted on 5 June, the union described the location as a “total health and safety crisis”.

It mentioned some individuals had reported affected by psychological well being considerations, together with suicidal ideas, suffering of their being concerned tasks or being worried about their being pregnant because of anxiousness.

It mentioned the Academic Futures procedure, to be regarded as by means of the University Council on 17 June, was once “an unfolding and comprehensive disaster for staff health, university workload, day to day operations, and academic community”.

In March, a union questionnaire – which was once despatched to greater than 1,500 individuals around the college and gained 197 responses – highlighted cuts had “negatively affected” the well being and wellbeing of crew, it mentioned.

Experiences reported by means of union individuals incorporated anxiousness and melancholy, no longer sound asleep or consuming correctly, nausea, panic assaults, weight reduction, abdomen issues, loss of transparent pondering and focus, exhaustion, larger center price and blood power, suffering with being concerned tasks, consuming, taking drugs, taking in poor health go away, and feeling suicidal.

One respondent wrote: “I considered having an abortion as a result of the panic”.

One crew member mentioned that they had “felt suicidal more than once over the last few weeks”, whilst any other described the make stronger on be offering from the college as “woeful”.

The newest replace on cuts does no longer save you obligatory redundancies past 2025, and the UCU has known as at the college to head a step additional and convey the rest crew out of the “scope for redundancy” class.

It added it sought after to peer bosses write an all-staff conversation “acknowledging the crisis and taking full responsibility for the consequences of choices made during the cuts process”, in addition to “addressing staff mental health as a matter of urgency and invest considerably more resources in mental health and wellbeing support”.

It mentioned it stated the college’s wellbeing group was once “overstretched”, however added it had no longer observed any indicators this factor would “be addressed in a concrete way”.

“Given what we have found about the impacts of Academic Futures on staff health, we are very concerned that over 400 people are still in scope for redundancy.

“Management’s present plan, up for attention by means of the University Council subsequent week, lets in for them to be left in peril for years yet to come,” the union mentioned.

“This is a recipe for crisis that would imply the nightmarish findings of our survey might change into the brand new commonplace.

“Quite frankly, this could be a matter of life and death.”

Cardiff University mentioned the establishment understood the affect the previous couple of months had had on colleagues, including it confronted “significant challenges to our sustainability” which had “necessitated some very difficult decisions”.

It mentioned the questionnaire effects “make for difficult reading”, including: “Following further meetings with UCU, a draft action plan has been developed at pace, in collaboration with our trade unions.

“We are listening and are dedicated to running in partnership with the business unions on movements to handle particular issues, to beef up wellbeing for all individuals of our neighborhood and to verify we proceed to supply well timed conversation.”

They said the university was “shocked” by the referral but would “supply any knowledge required by means of the HSE”.

If you will have been suffering from any of the problems raised on this tale you’ll talk over with BBC Action Line.