Member Bulletin 1

ENU Statutory Ballot – No Compulsory Redundancy Dispute 

The EIS ULA statutory ballot at ENU opened on Wednesday and will remain open for 6 weeks, closing on  9th January, 2026 . This is a statutory ballot, so members will receive their ballot paper by post.  It is imperative that all members cast their ballot and vote YES for strike action as soon as they can. 

Members should already have started receiving their ballot papers. Please look out for the envelope, which will have EIS printed on the front. Vote YES on the ballot paper and use the pre-paid envelope provided to post your completed ballot paper as soon as possible and have your voice counted. 

ENU recently made staff aware that it is seeking to make planned cuts to approximately 70FTE lecturing and academic-related staff. The EIS is not convinced by the University’s redundancy proposal. The University has had several years of strong income growth and has built up healthy financial reserves. Last year, the University reported a “break-even” position, maintained its financial reserves and had no utilised bank borrowings. These proposed redundancies reflect a desire to maintain a surplus at the expense of staff.  

The EIS ULA branch believes that the University will use compulsory redundancies to achieve this staffing reduction. The EIS does not accept compulsory redundancies in any situation. Joint trade unions have been seeking a no compulsory redundancy guarantee, but the university have chosen not to offer this to staff. 

The EIS also objects to voluntary redundancies where they lead to additional work and stress being put on the remaining staff, or when they are used in such a way that members feel forced to take voluntary redundancy/severance. 

As this is a local dispute, EIS ULA members would receive strike pay for any days of strike action taken. 

In October, members at ENU were asked to stand together to defend their jobs through the consultative ballot process. The result of that ballot was a clear indication that members at ENU will not stand idly by and allow the university to make these cuts. However, the university has not heeded this warning. 

To defend jobs, it is therefore necessary to seek a mandate for industrial action. It is our last resort. Doing so requires EIS ULA members at ENU to vote in a statutory ballot.  

The EIS believes that no member of staff should be made compulsorily redundant at ENU. Only a few weeks ago, EIS colleagues took strike action at UWS which successfully stopped compulsory redundancies. Other EIS disputes have also saved members jobs – but it does take collective action and unity.