TRADE unions at Cardiff University are celebrating the extension of tomorrow’s deadline for responding to its redundancy consultation — and its promise of no compulsory redundancies this year.

UCU Cardiff called off a series of planned strikes after the no-redundancy pledge was made and the consultation on “academic futures” proposals was extended to June 30, allowing for further union discussion.

UCU Cardiff’s Andy Williams said his union had won important concessions from the university’s executive board via talks at the conciliation service Acas, on May Day itself.

“Cardiff University has blinked and has now agreed to UCU demands for no compulsory redundancies this year,” Mr Williams said.

“When the university announced 400 job cuts and course closures, younger UCU members and students feared we would not be able to win the fight.

“But the strength of the union response when we smashed the 50 per cent strike threshold for action, and outrage from outside institutions, has forced the university to reconsider.

“We have not won the war yet, but we have won the first battle.”

Mr Williams also said that the UCU Cardiff branch had learned lessons from previous ballots and had surprised the university’s board with the strength of its mandate.

The UCU suspension of industrial action also includes the marking and assessment boycott. 

The talks with the trade unions are due to inform the final proposals presented to the university’s council on June 17.

The unions have also emphasised the need for further clarity for those staff who remain at risk of possible redundancy.

An interim timetable, showing what happens between now and the university’s council meeting, will be published soon.

The university board said it recognised the very real human impact that the planned cuts had, and the impact on academic and professional services for staff and students.

The university pledged to work in partnership to assess the steps that it could take to rebuild trust and looked after the health and wellbeing of staff and students.

It said this would include involving the unions in informing decision-making processes beyond the legally required formal consultations.