As many as 1,000 university jobs in Wales are at risk as staff prepare to walk out on a further 17 strike days in a row over pay, conditions and pensions. Universities Wales, which represents institutions said the research jobs could be lost as a result of Brexit.
Swansea University Vice Chancellor Paul Boyle described the situation as "the precipice of disaster" as EU structural funds come to an end. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, the UK’s access to many large-scale European Union funding programmes finishes this year.
A Universities Wales spokesperson said: “Through the use of EU Structural Funds, our universities have delivered research, innovation and skills development that has benefited individuals, businesses and communities across Wales. Many of these projects are now facing a ‘cliff-edge’ as EU structural funds come to an end, with 60 projects in Wales due to end this year, putting around 1,000 skilled jobs at risk.
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Universities Wales said many of the projects and jobs at risk cover areas that the UK Government considers a priority including digital transformation, net zero and supporting growth in local businesses - "Without urgent support, these projects are at risk, and this impact will be felt in regional economies across the whole of Wales."
Describing the situation as “the precipice of disaster” for his university, Wales and the wider UK, Swansea University Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle urged the UK government to “act urgently” and provide a safety net, in the form of immediate bridging funding.
Professor Boyle, who chair of Universities Wales' Research and Innovation Network said more than over 240 “highly skilled” jobs are at risk at Swansea University alone, unless the UK Government acts now to replace EU funding. The jobs are in areas from clean energy to medical research.
Professor Boyle said around 60 large-scale, multi-partner research projects in Wales are at risk. Those facing closure at Swansea University alone, the life sciences network CALIN,which researches areas such as new treatments for diseases.
In a statement Swansea University said that over the past decade, it has attracted significant levels of EU investment, for research and innovation to support major developments, such as the £450 million Bay Campus. By 2025, the UK Government has pledged to award £2.6 billion of replacement funding through its UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which will be administered by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, led by Michael Gove.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said: "The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will match EU funding and give local places control of how money is spent, remove unnecessary bureaucracy and enable local communities to invest in the priorities that matter to them."
But Swansea University said the mechanism for distributing these funds locally makes securing funding for large-scale collaboration at cross-regional and Wales-wide scale almost impossible. “There is no replacement funding of a nature that will support the collaborative approach to research and innovation which has previously enabled Wales to punch well above its weight in terms of research impact.”
Universities UK, which represents universities across the country, recently warned that jobs, talent and knowledge will be lost across the UK, particularly in those regions prioritised by UK Government within the Levelling Up agenda, if there is no urgent bridging funding.
Professor Boyle said: “We are on the precipice of a disaster for research and innovation in Wales, which only the UK Government can now prevent. Weeks from now, we will begin to see EU funding cease for many major research projects, which will impact jobs, talent, and local innovation and skills capability.
“While this is a UK-wide issue, the impact on Swansea and Wales will be especially severe. We are very concerned for the many colleagues whose posts are at risk. More broadly, the closure of these projects will seriously and irreparably damage Wales’ research and innovation sector.
“Many of the projects at risk also provide high-quality skills training to Welsh business. They encourage growth in local employment and productivity, which is all the more vital in areas of economic disadvantage within the Welsh regions.
"Perversely, they include pioneering work in areas of innovation which the UK Government has rightly identified as top priority, such as digital transformation and the push for Net Zero. The cliff edge is looming for all this vital work.”
Meanwhile staff walked out at all universities earlier this week on the first of 18 days of planned strikes this term by UCU members. Some students have demanded to be reimbursed for lost teaching and lectures.
Universities said they would do all they could to mitigate disruption caused by the strike. The UCU has been locked in dispute with university employers over pay and changes to pensions and job conditions for years.
This is how universities say they will support students during the walk outs:
University of Wales Trinity St David
“The University will remain open throughout the strike action and students will be able to access buildings and services including Library Learning Resources (LLRs), IT labs, cafes, and Student Services. We expect our students to continue to attend classes and complete assignments as normal.
"We are communicating with our students ahead of the industrial action to provide advice and guidance including contact details for further information”.
Swansea University
"The planned industrial action by the UCUrelates to two national disputes; one relating to pay and conditions, and the other relating to planned changes to the USS Pension Scheme.
"Swansea University is neither the instigator nor the owner of the USS Pension Scheme reform process, and cannot act unilaterally. We are committed to keeping colleagues and trade unions fully informed and to continuing to work with them, but any solution will be a UK-wide one.
"We will be working with Universities UK to ensure that a solution is found which is equitable and fair, but also affordable for staff and our university.
"The university has contingency plans and continues to work with key stakeholders and colleagues to ensure that, as far as possible, disruption to our students is kept to a minimum as a result of the industrial action."
Aberystwyth University
“The university respects the rights of colleagues to take industrial action but is committed to minimising disruption to the studies of our students where possible. The relevant pay and pensions negotiations occur on a UK-wide basis for the UK Higher Education sector and we are committed to implementing sector wide pay agreements, as we did for our staff at the beginning of this academic year.
"The university also recognises the cost-of-living pressures on everyone at this time, however for that reason it is important that pay increases do not place unsustainable financial burdens on universities.”
Cardiff University
"Pay and pensions are negotiated nationally so the University is unable to resolve these disputes on its own. We’d urge all parties to come together to find a way forward.
"The University remains open, and we will do everything possible to minimise the disruption to our students’ studies. As with previous industrial action the salary that is held back from staff who take action will be used by the university to address the disruption caused by industrial action and protect the interests of our students."
Open University in Wales
"We are committed to minimising disruption for students and are confident that the majority of staff will be working as normal during any period of strike action.
"Any monies withheld from salaries as a result of strike action or ASOS will be deposited, after the deduction of any strike-related costs, in a student welfare fund. This will be used across the university for activities and initiatives to support the well-being and welfare of our students."
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- The reasons teachers in Wales gave for going on strike and continuing action
- Right to Strike rallies draw hundreds on biggest day of industrial action in a decade
