STAFF at a crisis-hit university have claimed they are only receiving updates on the future of their jobs through the media, rather than institution bosses.
The University College Union branch at Dundee University (DUCU) told The National that its members are being excluded from making decisions around the university's future, and are resorting to getting their information online.
Dundee University is facing hundreds of job cuts in a bid to tackle a £35 million financial black hole.
Around 300 jobs are set to be cut through a voluntary redundancy scheme by the end of September, equivalent to 10% of the university's total workforce.
A proposed recovery plan, which is understood to have included further job cuts, was rejected last month by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the Scottish Government body responsible for distributing public funds to higher education institutions. The university is now in the process of putting forward a new recovery plan.
DUCU claimed its members have had no input or "meaningful engagement" on the university's recovery plan, despite efforts to engage with bosses, adding they were not told that the university was planning to include compulsory redundancies as part of the plan.
Ian Ellis, DUCU co-president, told The National that the union was getting "no communication" from bosses and had "no involvement" in the recovery plan.
"Everything that we know, we've found out merely through the press," Ellis said.
"The staff joke that we read what's happening next in [the news], and the university's then playing catch-up in terms of communication."
The university denied the union was being left out of discussions, saying it had arranged a number of meetings as the recovery plan was being drafted.
A spokesperson told The National it had shared financial information with union colleagues, with union members also present at the most recent University Court meeting, which took place earlier this month and saw bosses give an update on the state of the recovery plan.
However, DUCU insisted that it had "never" been "meaningfully" involved in negotiations around the plan, and that while they had "sight" of the plan, they were reportedly told they would have no input.
DUCU added that while there are union members on the university court, they are bound by confidentiality and are not there on behalf of the union.
The allegations come after the Gillies report, published by the SFC in June, found a lack of communication and transparency with staff had contributed to the financial crisis at Dundee University.
Dejan Stjepanovic, DUCU treasurer, told The National the report showed "key decisions were made behind closed doors without the involvement of all the relevant actors".
"They carry on in this same fashion, I don't think they even understand what the problem is," Stjepanovic added.
The ongoing cuts at Dundee have ultimately affected staff morale, with many left unsure about how they are going to cope with increased workloads and uncertainty around job security.
Stjepanovic told The National: "We already have terrible workloads, now we're losing crucial people – and it's usually the best people that leave first. We're at the start of an academic year, when in some cases we don't even know who is leaving, and on what terms, and who is going to replace them.
"It's impossible to get people motivated in an environment like that."
Meanwhile, Ellis said the process of losing staff was akin to "a bereavement".
"Yes, you might see this person for a coffee or down the pub, but you're not with them in a work environment. People I've worked with for 20 years will no longer be coming into work, and they will miss it, and so will we," Ellis said.
He added: "People have left already, and the rest of us who are left will be picking up the pieces. Nobody's worked out whether the people who are staying behind can actually cope with the stress. There's no systems put in place, and that's what really worries me."
DUCU members are currently being balloted on fresh strike action, following three weeks of industrial action which took place in February.
The ballot runs until October 6, with the union calling for compulsory redundancies to be ruled out, along with greater transparency and "meaningful negotiation" from the university.
Stjepanovic said taking strike action is "something we don't want to do".
"We don't want to lose our lectures, our teaching, the deadlines for grant applications and so on. This hurts us as well," he said.
He added: "Often we are not taken seriously, we are not listened to. This hurts us financially, we lose our salaries, but this is unfortunately the only time when we are taken slightly more seriously."
A Dundee University spokesperson said: “We engaged with the trade unions as we were drafting the university recovery plan, scheduling a series of meetings which took place both before and after submission. As part of that engagement, we had a seminar on the university’s finances, and there was extensive financial information in the recovery plan, which we shared in both draft and final form with union colleagues.
“We share our management accounts, which contain extensive financial information, with the trade unions every quarter. We shared the latest two weeks ago and have had our latest meeting with them on Wednesday, September 10.
“There are also union members on the university court, which met on Tuesday, September 9 and where all members were updated on the current position with regards to planning towards our recovery.”
