Welsh university collapse is a 'real danger', Senedd hears
Dan Beard, who chairs Unison Cymru's higher education forum, told the Senedd's education committee: 'Without change, we will see universities collapsing or contracting significantly.'
Giving evidence to an inquiry on higher education, which was prompted by cuts at institutions across Wales, Unison called for urgent intervention from ministers. 'Nearly all universities are making cuts to some degree or another,' Mr Beard told the inquiry.
Unison described the Welsh Government's February announcement of £18.5m for universities as 'nowhere near enough,' with Cardiff alone facing a £30m shortfall.
'Without a strategy and funding, Welsh universities will continue to contract, shedding staff and closing unprofitable courses,' the union said in its written evidence.
Unison expressed frustration with the Welsh Government 'waiting to see' how UK ministers respond, cautioning: 'The gravity of the situation means we can't afford to wait.'
The trade union said higher education institutions face a dire financial situation, with hundreds of redundancies proposed which could be devastating for Wales. 'There is a real danger a university in Wales could collapse next year,' Unison warned.
Gareth Lloyd, Wales official at the University and College Union (UCU), said the union's members felt ambushed by Cardiff University's announcement of job cuts.
Pinning a breakdown in trust at the university's door, he told the committee: 'The Cardiff UCU branch responded as they felt appropriate based on their membership.'
Mr Lloyd said: 'On every level, discussion has to take place early on – you do not go to the press, make announcements and put people's jobs at risk.'
He raised the upsetting impact of the cuts on students as well as UCU members, warning: 'If we're not careful, this could have a real detrimental effect on students who don't want to go there and that really, really worries me.'
During the meeting on June 25, Mr Beard added: 'Privately, there were lots of senior leaders in other universities aghast about how Cardiff University went about it…. In the other seven institutions across Wales, they said that's the wrong way to do it.'
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