Planned strike action at Cardiff University has been called off after a pledge there will be no compulsory job losses this year, the BBC has been told.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) have approved a deal which was reached after discussions between unions and university management in a special meeting on Thursday.

The agreement does not rule out job losses beyond 2025 and a consultation over proposed cuts in some departments will continue, with details finalised in June.

It comes after the union warned there would be a “summer of chaos” if the university did not back down on its proposed slashing of staff and courses.

Eights strike days and an indefinite marking and assessment boycott, due to start on 6 May, were scheduled last month.

The first strike action, timetabled for 1 May, was previously suspended after it was agreed the university and unions would hold discussions.

Industrial action as part of a UK-wide dispute in 2023 caused significant disruption and meant many students were not able to graduate for months after finishing their courses.

The university has said it was able to suspend compulsory redundancies for this calendar year “because of the number of applications for voluntary redundancy currently received”.

Last month it updated the number of proposed job losses from 400 to 286, taking into account staff who had opted to leave voluntarily.

At the same time it said a controversial proposal to close the nursing department could be replaced by a new plan which would mean the university would carry on training student nurses.

But proposals to close the schools of music, modern languages, ancient history and religion and theology remain on the table, as well as plans to merge other departments.

The consultation period ends on 6 May, with final plans to be signed off by the University Council on 17 June.

Unions have called for clarity on what the deal will mean for the more than 1,200 staff members who are currently “in scope” for redundancy.