Talks over university job cuts break down after union official dismissed

Talks in an ongoing dispute over planned job cuts at the University of Aberdeen have broken down after a senior trade union official was dismissed, BBC Scotland has learned.

A £10m savings plan - which could see more than 100 jobs lost - was agreed earlier this year.

The University and College Union (UCU) said the staff member's dismissal needed to be met with a "proportionate response", and that it had withdrawn from the ongoing negotiations.

The university has been contacted for comment.

Earlier this year the university reopened a voluntary severance and early retirement scheme in a bid to find savings.

It also asked departments to identify other measures to save money.

The aim is to see the university break even financially by 2028.

Staff went on strike earlier this year because of the proposed cuts.

BBC Scotland News has now learned the UCU union told its members that it had withdrawn from ongoing talks.

In an email seen by the BBC, the union cited a "breakdown in our already fragile industrial relations with senior management that makes business as usual impossible".

The email, sent on Friday, references the dismissal of a senior union official - the UCU says it would not discuss the details of the case but it wanted to keep members informed of developments.

Because of the breakdown, the union said it had withdrawn from the university's partnership negotiating consultative committee and policy review group.

This group brings together management and trade unions to discuss, consult and negotiate on staff employment, pay, and working conditions.

UCU Scotland official, Nathan Morrison, said: "The Aberdeen UCU branch has pulled away from local bargaining arrangement at the university as a result of the dismissal of one of our senior reps.

"We will be engaging with management to try and resolve this, but I'm clear that the dismissal of a trade union rep needs to be met with a proportionate response from the union."

The University of Aberdeen is not alone in Scotland's higher education sector in making cost-cutting measures.

The University of Edinburgh announced it was to seek £140m in cuts to tackle financial difficulties in February last year.

The Scottish government bailed out Dundee University with £40m of emergency funding to help it through a financial crisis.

Strikes over cost-cutting have also taken place at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, while Strathclyde University announced plans to cut 70 jobs in December.