STAFF at Salford University will down mortarboards today after two workers were summarily dismissed having raised concerns about a restructure.

The pair were chucked on gardening leave the day before organisational changes were pushed through and subsequently dismissed and refused any appeal.

The University and College Union (UCU) says they were victimised because of their union activities. And their colleagues have now overturned the management wheelbarrow with a 75 per cent vote for strike action.

Staff at the university are normally allowed to be part of a redundancy selection pool, consulted on how their redundancies could be avoided and able to appeal if they are unhappy with procedures.

But Salford denied the workers any of these opportunities — and UCU says their treatment flew in the face of protocols.

Their department, the school of marketing and student recruitment, has recently advertised new posts in spite of its claims the workers were dismissed in a cost-cutting exercise.

UCU official Martyn Moss said: “The vote in support of the strike shows that staff at Salford find the contemptuous treatment of their colleagues unacceptable.

“No institution should be allowed to ride roughshod over agreed procedures and violate its employees’ rights in this way.

“In the meantime, UCU is still committed to achieving a negotiated settlement through talks.”

The union has also lodged complaints at the employment tribunal on behalf of both workers.