Northumberland College staff facing new threat to jobs

Posted by The Journal on Feb 15, 10 04:58 PM in School news

STAFF at a North East college are bracing themselves for a renewed threat of job losses and other cuts after management said they would be "leaving no stone unturned" to cut costs.

Bosses at Northumberland College say growing financial pressures have forced a re-think of its entire business model, and a consultation exercise is being launched in a bid to identify solutions.

No specific cutbacks have been proposed at this stage, but the University and College Union (UCU) says members are "angry and concerned" at the situation, and there is a fear of redundancies.

Nine months ago a ballot of lecturers at the college resulted in 82% supporting strike action and 96% backing industrial action short of a strike.

The UCU ballot was held after management refused to rule out compulsory redundancies as part of a cost-cutting drive to shed 33.5 full-time equivalent posts from the 300-strong workforce. The threat of industrial action was eventually called off after the dispute was resolved.

Last month The Journal revealed how the latest Ofsted inspection report on the college had concluded that its financial health had improved following a period of "considerable financial instability" in which it ran up a deficit in its operating costs.

But now management and governors say they have to respond to significant changes taking place in the college sector as a whole, with substantial funding reductions being implemented both regionally and nationally.

College principal and chief executive Rachel Ellis-Jones says colleges are being forced to deliver more for less.

The college's plans for a new ÃÂ£50m campus in Ashington remain on hold because of national capital spending cuts by the Learning and Skills Council.

She said: "It is not simply a case of delivering more for less. We need to analyse every aspect of our current delivery model. It is very much a case of leaving no stone unturned.

"We will work with staff, our trade unions, students and stakeholders in order to secure a future that is ultimately rewarding and beneficial. Despite the issues we face, we are still determined to become an exceptional college for Northumberland."

Mavis Taggert, UCU branch secretary at the college, said there were fears that the process would result in a renewed threat of redundancies, which would be strongly opposed.

She said: "The UCU branch officials recognise that cost savings will have to be made due to substantial reductions in funding.

"However, we will work collectively as a branch to ensure that any savings do not disproportionately fall on our members.

"This latest situation has found our members to be both angry and concerned that yet again they face an attack on their jobs, despite the recent Ofsted inspection which graded teaching at the college as good. It is less than a year since staff last faced the threat of compulsory redundancies.

"Despite these concerns, staff will remain committed to ensuring students continue to have a rewarding learning experience at Northumberland College."

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