Union members at Durham University have backed potential strike action over the institution¡¯s plans to cut 200 jobs in professional services over the next two years.

Some 72 per cent of University and College Union (UCU) members said they were prepared to strike on a turnout of 64 per cent, a figure the branch said was its highest ever. A further 81 per cent said they were prepared to engage in action short of a strike.

The vote follows an announcement from Durham in January that it needs to save ?20 million over the next two years as part of efforts to return to a ¡°sustainable financial base¡± after posting a ?8 million deficit.

It opened a voluntary severance scheme and said it initially expected 200 staff in professional services to depart. Compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out.

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Durham UCU co-president Sara Uckelman said that this ¡°leaves us with no option but to undertake industrial action to protect our colleagues¡¯ jobs¡±.

She said those affected ¡°provide the backbone infrastructure that allows our university to function smoothly, from providing vital research and teaching support, to taking care of the health and well-being of our students, to filling our libraries, to ensuring that our buildings are kept safe and clean for both staff and students¡±.

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Durham is the latest university to be threatened with strike action over redundancies. Staff at the University of Sheffield have also announced that they plan to take strike action over plans to slash staffing costs by ?23 million over the next two years.

Sheffield Hallam University, Brunel University of London, Newcastle University, the University of East Anglia and the University of Dundee have already seen strike action take place. The UCU estimates that more than 5,000 job have been lost so far this academic year, with a further 5,000 anticipated to come.

A Durham University spokesperson said that the university ¡°cannot remain a world-class centre of research and education without a firmly established and sustainable financial base¡±.

¡°We remain committed to doing all we can to achieve savings by voluntary means and to continue working with our recognised trade unions and with our staff in an open, transparent, and timely way.

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¡°We have been notified by Durham UCU of their ballot outcome. We would always seek to minimise the impact of any industrial action on our students and ensure they feel supported,¡± they said.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com