The following was issued in response to UCU press release of 04/01/10.
The University and UCU representatives attended separate briefing meetings with
the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (5 January). These were
held in preparation for talks to resolve the dispute which are scheduled for the
11, 19 and 25 January 2010.
We agree
with UCU that government cuts to the higher education budget are a risk to the
quality and international competitiveness of the UK university sector and we
are continuing to make that point to the government and opposition parties. But we can't see what good strike action at Leeds would do. Severe cuts are a reality for the next academic year, and, like countless other
organisations, the University had to make savings to keep its books balanced as
income falls and costs rise. We are committed to working with the unions
to avoid compulsory redundancies if we can, and we will be doing everything
possible to protect the quality of our academic work.
SOURCE