UK OU staff goes on strike
The staff of the UK’s Open University has gone on strike after the institution said it would press ahead with plans to close seven regional centers.
The members of the University and College Union are staging a one-day strike with a further walkout planned at the Oxford regional center on 2 December. The centers to shut are in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Gateshead, Leeds, London and Oxford. Now the members in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Milton Keynes, Manchester and Nottingham are also joining the strike.
The union said the student support center closures would put 502 jobs at risk.
According to media reports, the OU wants to centralize its support centers in Manchester, Nottingham and Milton Keynes.
"Nobody wants to take strike action, but we have now been left with no alternative. The university needs to listen to our concerns and abandon these damaging proposals," said Union branch President for the university, Pauline Collins.
Meanwhile, vice-chancellor of The Open University Peter Horrocks said the decision meant "much-needed improvements" could be made to student support services, which had not been possible across smaller, dispersed offices.
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