A mass walkout over planned cuts at Cardiff University is likely in the next 90 days. Staff in the UCU union are to be balloted on possible strike action over proposed sweeping cuts including 400 proposed academic job losses. We're covering the latest developments live and in one place here.

If they vote in favour of walkouts action would take place within the next 90 days, UCU representative Andy Williams said. The union said it had indications that job losses and cuts were on the way, although not of the magnitude announced, and as a result an indicative ballot was held in December.

That indicative ballot was in favour of striking in the event of redundancies and a formal ballot will now take place. The university announced on Tuesday that it proposed cuts including closing whole departments and 400 jobs as it grapples with a deficit. You can read details of the proposed cuts here..

The UCU will now ballot Cardiff University branch members on whether they are in favour of strike action and/or action short of strike including a marking boycott, Mr Williams said. That ballot would need to reach a 50% threshold in order to go through. If it does notice of strike would then go ahead and action follow within the 90-day consultation period the university has announced, which ends in early May. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

Mr Williams said members were "tired" of strikes after a number were held over the last few years but were now "fighting for their livelihoods" again. Following the announcement of “brutal cuts” members’ attitude has hardened over night, he said.

"We knew something was coming but did not expect it to be as wide and deep," said Mr Williams. "We got the first indications that there might be compulsory redundancies last term but we had no indication that there would be cuts of this depth then.

“Because strike action is a drawn-out legal process did an indicative ballot in the branch in December and that was in favour of strike over redundancies. We will now have an official formal ballot on whether to strike.

“After all the strikes in the last few years we are tired of striking but previous strikes have been successful in keeping our pensions although not on pay. But everyone is now at risk and will be fighting for their livelihoods. We expect the appetite for strike action over these proposed cuts will be high and there’s a strong likelihood we reach the threshold needed to strike.”

Mr Williams agreed any walkout would be disruptive to students but urged them to support staff. Students should put pressure on the university not to make such deep cuts, he said.

“The message to students is to put pressure on the university to stop these cuts. The university listens to students and many will be affected by these cuts with whole departments and programmes going.

“Students should put pressure on the university to negotiate with the union. They pay a lot for their degrees and these cuts will be hugely disruptive to them as well as our members losing their jobs. What is going to happen to the value of students’ degrees and the reputation of the university as a whole?"

Universities have been hit by a series of strikes by UCU members in Wales and across the UK in protest over pensions, pay, and workload in the last six years. The walkouts were successful in members keeping their pension deal but not in terms of winning the pay deal they wanted. Students lost teaching time and lectures and exams were left unmarked or were marked late.

In the most recent nationwide strike in 2023 some 70,000 university staff, including those at Cardiff and Swansea universities, joined a mass walkout in an ultimately failed protest over pay with 18 days of strike action from February to March that year . That strike affected 2.5m students.

In the previous successful pension dispute strikes the UCU secured members' demands to retain their guaranteed future retirement income. For those at the beginning of their career the losses would have amounted to hundreds of thousands of pounds, the UCU said. Some students supported strikes and some campaigned for fees to be reimbursed.