Staff to strike again at London Met

Please note: industrial action planned for 2 July has been suspended because of management action against colleagues in UNISON - more to follow. The rally at 1pm will be going ahead as planned.

Events will then culminate in a rally at 1pm outside the International Students House at Great Portland Street where the chair of London Met's board of governors is based.

On Tuesday (June 30) UCU called for the management and governors of London Metropolitan University to be replaced after it was revealed that the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) had 'no confidence in their 'leadership.'  Documents released to the press show that HEFCE considered taking the 'nuclear option' of dissolving the university after it wildly misreported the number of students completing courses.
 
LMU has been hit by repayment demands totalling more than £36 million and has responded to the crisis by announcing plans to axe over 550 posts.  The union is furious that the majority of the university's bosses remain in place and has called for all compulsory job losses to be suspended until a full public inquiry in to the current financial mess has been held.
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The situation at London Met is a nightmare and members don't want be taking industrial action, however, it is not acceptable for management to punish staff for their mistakes. UCU and Unison members at LMU have the full support of the national union in their action and can rest assured that we will be fighting the dangerous redundancy plans all the way.
 
'Those responsible for the current mess must be held accountable, not the staff, and once again I call upon the government to hold a fully independent public inquiry. Ministers cannot put this off any longer. The proposed job cuts would be a disaster for students and the local area.
 
'Any inquiry which does not examine closely the full failings at LMU will be a wasted opportunity to provide a brighter future for its beleaguered staff and students. We must have a transparent review in which all stakeholders are fully involved and we urge LMU to halt its redundancies plans to allow that inquiry to take place.'
 
LMU has over 34,000 students and is the largest university in the capital. It has a proven track record when it comes to widening participation and has been at the forefront of the government's strategy to open up university to more students from 'non-traditional' backgrounds.

London Metropolitan University – a pioneer for widening participation:

• 97.3% of LMU students come from state schools or colleges (31st highest in the UK)
• 42.9% come from lower social economic groups (26th highest in the UK)
• 51.9% of students at LMU are mature students (5th highest in the UK)
• there are 3,565 part-time students at LMU (18th highest in the UK).