UNIVERSITY lecturers have called off industrial action after it emerged that job cuts will not be forced on staff.

Instead, Northumbria University has said that savings of £3.6m will be made through voluntary redundancies and leaving vacancies open.

About 70 voluntary redundancy offers will be made and about 50 jobs will go through managing remaining vacancies.

Northumbria University's Natfhe branch chairman, Dr Martyn Levy, said the union had received assurances that the workload for remaining members would not increase as a result of the redundancies.

University head of public relations Dr Sean Figgis said: "With management and unions working together, we have achieved our objective without needing to move to a situation of compulsory redundancy.