Essex unions declare ‘no confidence’ in v-c over job cuts

Unions have passed a vote of no confidence in the vice-chancellor of the University of Essex, accusing her of “shambolic” handling of job cuts.

Up to 400 roles are being lost at the south-east institution owing to financial pressures as part of moves that will also see the closure of its Southend campus.

It has now emerged that the university had to apologise to 18 members of staff after they were wrongly informed they were at risk of redundancy.

University and College Union (UCU) members – along with staff belonging to the other two campus unions, Unison and Unite – have passed a motion of no confidence in Frances Bowen, the leader of the university, and demanded she resign from the role.

A total of 372 staff members – about 15 per cent of the workforce – took part in the vote with 97 per cent in favour.

The university stressed its leader still had the “full support” of its governing council. A spokesperson said that the university understood “this has been a difficult time for our staff” but insisted it has “strived to ensure the consultation process was fair, transparent and genuine”. 

UCU has already held strike action over the plans that have also been criticised by local politicians.

Unions described Bowen’s handling of the redundancies as “shambolic” and called for a new leadership team to be established. They want redundancy plans to be scrapped, and for the institution to reopen its consultation with staff. 

They are also calling on the university to halt the closure of the Southend campus and fully disclose the financial decisions behind the shutdown to Southend Council and investors. 

Melanie Leech, Essex’s chair of council, said that Bowen has “the full confidence and support” of the university’s governing body, and that its council has approved “each stage of the decisions required to protect the university’s long-term future”.

“We recognise the significant personal and professional impact that changes of this kind have on the staff affected. These are serious decisions, and all those involved in making them are committed to ensuring the process is handled in the right way, with every effort made to minimise the impact on staff and to secure the best possible outcomes for students.”

But Riley Iles, co-chair of the Unison branch, said while Bowen’s appointment in 2025 was “supposed to represent new hope for the university…every step of the so-called consultation has been a shambles”.

“Any other member of staff making the mistakes she and her executive team have made would have been put through capability proceedings and probably been sacked months ago.”

Jordan Osserman, the UCU branch co-chair, said the no-confidence vote “must be a fresh start” for the university. 

“The whole cuts process has been marred by ineptitude and failure, with no accountability, from those earning sky-high salaries at the top.

“We refuse to pay the price for their mismanagement. Staff and students now need new leadership who will work with us and the local community to save Southend and protect jobs, courses, and the university’s reputation for academic excellence.” 

The Essex spokesperson said it had held regular meetings with staff to keep them informed of the changes and actions being taken.

“We have also arranged hundreds of one-to-one consultation meetings with staff who were at risk of redundancy to ensure staff have had the opportunity to talk about the changes and how it impacts them.

“If any issues have emerged, we’ve sought to deal with them as quickly as possible and keep staff informed.”

They added that the university had apologised to the 18 members of staff who mistakenly received emails in March that they were at risk of redundancy, “and [we] provided support as soon as this genuine mistake was identified”.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com