A one-day strike has been announced at the University of East Anglia over plans to cut more than 150 roles.

The University and College Union (UCU) will stage the walkout on 26 March after claiming that one in six staff have been put at risk of redundancy.

UEA is seeking to cut 163 full-time equivalent roles on top of the 400 posts lost in 2023, as it tries to save a further £11 million.

More than half of the latest cuts target the university’s professional services staff while the faculties of medicine, science and arts and humanities will also be affected, losing more than 20 roles each, said UCU.

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A strike ballot of union members backed taking industrial action in the dispute by 82 per cent on a turnout of 67 per cent.

UEA staff have previously warned of repeated cycles of job cuts at the university, saying that “appeasing banks” was seen as more important than protecting staff.

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The co-chair of the UEA UCU branch, Nadine Zubair, said the dispute aimed to prevent compulsory redundancies and question the financial and business strategy of the university, and its governance.

“We will use our strike day to celebrate staff, to remind the employer that we are the university, that we matter, and that we have a clear and unified voice”, she said.

“There is real power in coming together and acting as a collective in these moments of crisis, and we need to act together to support all our colleagues who are ‘at risk’ of redundancy.”

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said the branch had the “full backing of their national union in continuing industrial action until management starts meaningful negotiations”.

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In a statement a UEA spokesperson said it was “disappointed” that the union had decided to strike and “we assure our students that we will make every effort to ensure their student learning experience is protected and they are made fully aware of support services available to them”.

“The university continues to work with our colleagues to deliver the required savings to secure our long-term future,” they added.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com