A long-running strike action at the University of Liverpool has ended after the union said it had won the battle to avoid any compulsory redundancies.
The six-month campaign by the University and College Union (UCU) has already resulted in 24 days of staff walk-outs and a marking boycott - and a further five days of action had been planned for next week.
The dispute began at the start of the year when the university announced plans to reshape its Health and Life Sciences faculty, including the potential removal of 47 members of research and teaching staff.
Read more: Liverpool to be hit by run of university and college strikes
Ongoing negotiations and action, including the marking boycott, have brought that number down, but earlier this week the union said it would continue with walk-outs because two staff were still at risk of compulsory redundancy.
The university said only one person had been given notice of compulsory redundancy, but today the union agreed to stand the action down after it was confirmed that no compulsory redundancies would be made.
The news represents a huge victory for the union and those staff members who walked out in protest at the planned job cuts.
A statement from the UCU branch at the university said: "Following an Emergency General meeting, University of Liverpool UCU has agreed to stand down the strike action planned for Monday 4th - Friday 8th October.
"Back in January, we were informed of the university's plans to make 47 compulsory redundancies. As a result of this action, not one compulsory redundancy has been made to a UCU member."
"This is the longest strike in the history of our union and one of the longest in Merseyside in decades. It is worth remembering that a sustained campaign and a record ballot saved 15 jobs before a moment of industrial action had taken place. Since then a further 11 jobs have been secured.
"Two rounds of strike action, the threat of further action and a hugely impactful marking and assessment boycott all combined to save jobs. This also brought about an enhanced voluntary severance package that enabled some of our members to take the decision to leave the university with great security than management wanted to afford them."
The union described 'spectacular leadership failures' at the university and added: "We have shown through an unprecedented campaign of strike action, that our potential to challenge this failed management and transform our university into a workplace that acts in the interests of staff and students has never been greater."
The University of Liverpool has been approached for a comment.
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