University drops plan to lose 195 staff jobs

The threat of further industrial action at a Scottish university has been ruled out after an agreement was reached with staff.

In March, staff at Dundee University walked out for a day in a bid to prevent compulsory redundancies.

The institution was looking to shed around 195 jobs through voluntary redundancy and said compulsory redundancy would only be considered as a "last resort".

In a joint statement, the university and Dundee University and College Union said they had resolved the dispute over potential compulsory redundancies resulting from the strategic review after "extensive negotiation".

The discussions had also led to agreements on policies on the "avoidance of redundancy" and the use of "fixed-term contracts".

The university said the strategic review has delivered savings of 8.7 million against a target of 10m.

Dr Jim McGeorge, secretary of the university, said: "We are pleased that no compulsory redundancies have been required to date and remain confident that, with continued effort, the remaining 1.3m of savings should be able to be achieved on the same basis."

Janice Aitken, president of Dundee University and College Union, said, "We are particularly satisfied that the negotiations have resulted in the agreement of a solid redundancy avoidance policy and we trust that the University of Dundee will do everything possible to achieve the savings they want without resorting to compulsory redundancies."

In October last year, the university outlined an overall reduction in staff numbers of up to 195 posts during a strategic review.

The institution launched the review in late 2009 to highlight areas for development across all four colleges.

The job cuts were expected to generate an annual saving of 8m and would impact on all colleges as well as university-wide support services.