Cardiff University job cuts a health and safety crisis, says UCU
Planned job cuts at Cardiff University have led to a "total health and safety crisis" with staff feeling their wellbeing has been inadequately considered, a union says.Cardiff UCU has reported Cardiff University's University Executive Board (UEB) to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following a "comprehensive breakdown of trust and morale" between university bosses and staff.The university initially announced that 400 jobs were at risk and some courses were to be axed in the cost-saving measures, but later reduced this and pledged there would be no compulsory redundancies this year.The university said it was working to increase support on offer to staff members.
On Monday, the university issued an update which stated 151 staff had voluntarily resigned, meaning 69 full-time equivalent job losses would now be needed for it to meet its target.The union said university management had failed to respond to concerns its members had raised, beyond offering "mainly cosmetic" remedies.In the HSE referral submitted on 5 June, the union described the situation as a "total health and safety crisis".It said some members had reported suffering from mental health concerns, including suicidal thoughts, struggling in their caring duties or worrying about their pregnancy due to anxiety.It said the Academic Futures process, to be considered by the University Council on 17 June, was "an unfolding and comprehensive disaster for staff health, university workload, day to day operations, and academic community".
In March, a union questionnaire - which was sent to more than 1,500 members across the university and received 197 responses - highlighted cuts had "negatively affected" the health and wellbeing of staff, it said.Experiences reported by union members included anxiety and depression, not sleeping or eating properly, nausea, panic attacks, weight loss, stomach problems, lack of clear thinking and concentration, exhaustion, increased heart rate and blood pressure, struggling with caring duties, drinking, taking medication, taking sick leave, and feeling suicidal.One respondent wrote: "I considered having an abortion as a result of the panic".One staff member said they had "felt suicidal more than once over the last few weeks", while another described the support on offer from the university as "woeful".The latest update on cuts does not prevent compulsory redundancies beyond 2025, and the UCU has called on the university to go a step further and bring the remaining staff out of the "scope for redundancy" category.It added it wanted to see bosses write an all-staff communication "acknowledging the crisis and taking full responsibility for the consequences of choices made during the cuts process", as well as "addressing staff mental health as a matter of urgency and invest considerably more resources in mental health and wellbeing support".
It said it acknowledged the university's wellbeing team was "overstretched", but added it had not seen any signs this issue would "be addressed in a concrete way"."Given what we have found about the impacts of Academic Futures on staff health, we are very concerned that over 400 people are still in scope for redundancy. "Management's current plan, up for consideration by the University Council next week, allows for them to be left at risk for years to come," the union said."This is a recipe for disaster that could mean the nightmarish findings of our survey may become the new normal."Quite frankly, this could be a matter of life and death."Cardiff University said the institution understood the impact the last few months had had on colleagues, adding it faced "significant challenges to our sustainability" which had "necessitated some very difficult decisions".It said the questionnaire results "make for difficult reading", adding: "Following further meetings with UCU, a draft action plan has been developed at pace, in collaboration with our trade unions."We are listening and are committed to working in partnership with the trade unions on actions to address specific points, to improve wellbeing for all members of our community and to ensure we continue to provide timely communication."They said the university was "surprised" by the referral but would "provide any information required by the HSE".If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
I tried CeraVe's new foam cleanser – and it's not what I expected
Fans of CeraVe will relish the brand's affordable, no-nonsense approach to facial cleansing. Do away with the essential oils, scrap the yellow and pink colouring, and hand over what's left: a targeted approach to bacteria and grime, specific to each skin type. It currently has a range of face cleansers, from an exfoliating salicylic acid formula (£10.80, to a hydrating one (£9.36, for dry, delicate complexions. And CeraVe has just added another to its cleansing roster aimed at normal to combination skin types. As someone who loves CeraVe, I was excited to hear word of a new launch: the balancing air foam cleanser (£10.86, But, I was dubious of the formula as I'm not normally a fan of foams. By design, foams require surfactants – ingredients that help lift dirt and oil but can often be drying. For years, brands like Clearasil and Neutrogena leaned into this, creating foaming face washes that stripped the skin under the guise of controlling acne and shine. Ironically, such formulas can backfire. Harsh surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) may compromise the skin's surface, creating tiny fissures that allow sebum to leak through. Dr Stefanie Williams, a registered dermatologist and medical director at Eudelo skin clinic, explained: 'Foaming cleansers, often marketed for oily or acne-prone skin, can actually make things worse when overused or poorly formulated as they can damage the skin barrier and disrupt the epidermis, triggering reactive oil production and congestion.' The result? More oil, more shine, and a disrupted barrier. So when CeraVe used the term 'balancing' to describe this cleanser, I had my doubts. The question is, does it buck the cleanser curve? How I tested I used CeraVe's balancing air foam cleanser for 10 days in the mornings and evenings, the latter as a second cleanse after removing make-up. I applied two to three pumps of the formula to my skin, massaging it into the surface before wiping it off with a hot flannel. I paid attention to the texture, feel and post-use results, noting any changes to the tightness or hydration of my skin. I also considered the value for money across ingredients and packaging, stacking my real-time review up against its on-paper benefits. Here's how I got on. Why you can trust IndyBest reviews Lucy Smith is The Independent 's beauty writer. She has grown increasingly familiar with CeraVe – from its revitalising eye cream to its vitamin C serum. Regarding cleansers, she's covered multiple in her five years in the industry, including Elemis, The Inkey List and more. She's interviewed numerous skincare experts, from plastic surgeons like Dr Rebecca Rollett to dermatologists and aestheticians to understand different ingredients and formulations.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Future of major research facility remains in doubt
The future of a major science and defence facility remains in the balance, despite government promises that it would be confirmed during the chancellor's spending UK Health Security Agency at Porton Down in Wiltshire researches how to tackle the world's most infectious diseases, and prepare the UK for future facility's move to Harlow in Essex was first announced in 2015, but has been been postponed from its initial moving date of 2024, due to spiralling no mention of the facility in Chancellor Rachel Reeves' statement, Salisbury MP John Glen asked whether the move was going ahead, but was told it was up to the Health Secretary. In her full response, the chancellor said that the government had given a "significant sum of money" to the Department of Health & Social Care and that it will be for the Health Secretary to make a of the spending review, the government had explicitly stated that a decision would be announced concerning the Glen says that despite searching for more information, he was unable to find a more definite answer."I scoured all the press releases and all the information I could find, and the decision is not apparent to us yet," he said."It is being kicked down the road. If they are going to move ahead with it it's going to cost a lot of money, with grave uncertainties and a lot of insecurity for people who work at Porton along the way." Council leader Ian Thorn said if the facility were to leave Wiltshire, it would be a "huge mistake" on the government's part."Beyond the health security agencies facilities, we have some of the most extraordinary research and development facilities in the world at Porton Down, much of it delivered by Wiltshire Council and our partners," he said."If you want to focus your attention in terms of delivering fantastic services, providing the right environment for highly skilled technicians and scientists, then staying in Wiltshire is clearly the right thing they should do."
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Bluetongue virus sees Wales introduce limits on moving livestock
Limits are to be placed on moving livestock from England into Wales in response to the spread of the bluetongue sheep and goats would need to test negative for the potentially fatal disease before they can be transported across the bluetongue has spread across large parts of England, it has yet to reach Wales this year and the Welsh government said it was attempting to hold it back "for as long as we can".But the farming industry warned the implications of the decision could be "catastrophic" for cross-border trade. Spread by midges, bluetongue presents no threat to food safety or human health, but can have serious consequences for ruminant livestock like sheep and farming industry is dominated by sheep and cattle farms.A restricted zone (RZ) in England - limiting the movement of animals - has continued to expand over recent months as the disease has 1 July, the UK government has decided to designate the whole of England as an RZ, which in practice means movement controls are lifted as the focus shifts to encouraging uptake of new bluetongue vaccines which alleviate the symptoms. The Welsh government said it regretted the UK government's decision, but understood the reasons behind it."This change increases the risk of disease incursion into Wales, either through the movement of infected livestock, or the ingress of virus carrying midges from across the border," warned Deputy First Minister Huw Welsh government had been left facing "a major decision - with implications for the livestock sectors and animal health and welfare across Wales", he said. Farming leaders had urged him to align with England and not impose restrictions on livestock movement across the border - branding it both "a futile endeavour and wholly impractical".Irranca-Davies, also the cabinet minister with responsibility for rural affairs, said he appreciated there were differing views and that he had listened to representation from both the livestock and veterinary ultimately he had concluded that he could not "in all conscience invite bluetongue into Wales on 1 July by aligning with the RZ in England"."I am unwilling to risk the uncertain impact of the disease in livestock dense areas like the Welsh borders," he said."I am also extremely concerned about the economic and farmer wellbeing impacts of dealing with sick animals, and the livestock productivity and fertility losses associated with severe bluetongue, as observed in many affected European countries."Testing livestock brought into Wales will allow time to monitor the effects of bluetongue in England and ensure more Welsh farmers are able to vaccinate their animals, he some would be disappointed by his announcement and there would be "licencing requirements, livestock testing costs and other commercial pressures" as a result, he said the policy would be kept "under regular review". Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) President Ian Rickman said the announcement brought "a wealth of barriers and complications"."The mechanics of issuing licences in a timely manner, arranging and conducting pre-movement sampling and testing, co-ordinating haulage and the extortionate costs and disruption to cross-border holdings and trade... will be entirely unattainable and impractical," he warned."Meanwhile the midges that carry and spread the virus would not respect any such boundaries."The union called for "clear guidelines and advice" for the 550 farms and "numerous livestock markets" that straddle the Welsh-English to BBC Farming Today earlier this week, Chris Dodds of the Livestock Auctioneers Association said limiting movement of animals across the border would be "catastrophic"."We're not very far away from the main store and breeding sales especially for sheep, when hundreds of thousands of animals move from their upland farms to the lowland farms both for feeding and for breeding purposes."Pointing to Hereford market, which sits "right near the Welsh border", he explained about 100,000 animals were moved from that market into Wales last year."The suggestion that everything (would have) to be pre-movement tested to move to Wales at great cost to the farmer - you're looking at tens of millions of pounds just within one market to facilitate that trade - and those animals need to go to the farmers as their future breeding stock." What is bluetongue? It affects cattle, goats, sheep, goats, deer and camelids such as llamas and can cause ulcers or sores around the animal's mouth and face, difficulties swallowing and breathing, fever and lameness, abortion, foetal deformities and impact of the latest strain – known as BTV-3 - seems to vary considerably across different regions, with some animals showing little sign of infection and managing to the Netherlands, tens of thousands of sheep have is a notifiable disease so anyone suspecting their animals may have it must report it to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
