Doncaster College halts plans for mass job cull
1 May 2009
UCU today welcomed the decision by Doncaster College, to abandon plans for mass redundancies. Over a 150 jobs look to have been saved, just days after the principal, Rowland Foote, was suspended and in the same week that UCU called for an investigation in to the college's finances.
On Tuesday UCU wrote to the Learning and Skills Council, asking for an urgent review of Doncaster's accounts, and for extra funding to help out with the crisis. Staff had been told to expect 160 job losses, and for some lecturers to be replaced by lower skilled assessors, as the college looked to restructure for the fifth time in five years.
The union hopes that today's announcement will mark a new direction for Doncaster, and make institutions think twice before making cuts. A number of further education colleges are currently looking to restructure, and up to a 100 universities have signalled their intention to get rid of staff. UCU has urged Doncaster's governors to rule out making any future redundancies, as they look to deal with the college's deficit.
UCU regional official for Yorkshire and the East Midlands, Russ Escritt, said: 'I am delighted that the governors at Doncaster College have gone back to the drawing board, and come back with this solution. Getting rid of staff is never a long term solution. Colleges, like universities, have a crucial role in lifting this country out of recession. It would have been a disaster for students, and the local area, if the redundancies had gone ahead, and it's good that teachers won't be replaced by assessors, as that only encourages teaching on the cheap'.
UCU head of further education Barry Lovejoy said: 'This is fantastic news for Doncaster College. It needs a strong workforce if it wants to fulfill its ambition of becoming a university, and I urge other further education colleges and universities to learn from its example. Restructuring and job losses invariably leads to crisis, and that's not what students or this country needs right now. Management needs to work with staff, not against them.'
The union hopes that today's announcement will mark a new direction for Doncaster, and make institutions think twice before making cuts. A number of further education colleges are currently looking to restructure, and up to a 100 universities have signalled their intention to get rid of staff. UCU has urged Doncaster's governors to rule out making any future redundancies, as they look to deal with the college's deficit.
UCU regional official for Yorkshire and the East Midlands, Russ Escritt, said: 'I am delighted that the governors at Doncaster College have gone back to the drawing board, and come back with this solution. Getting rid of staff is never a long term solution. Colleges, like universities, have a crucial role in lifting this country out of recession. It would have been a disaster for students, and the local area, if the redundancies had gone ahead, and it's good that teachers won't be replaced by assessors, as that only encourages teaching on the cheap'.
UCU head of further education Barry Lovejoy said: 'This is fantastic news for Doncaster College. It needs a strong workforce if it wants to fulfill its ambition of becoming a university, and I urge other further education colleges and universities to learn from its example. Restructuring and job losses invariably leads to crisis, and that's not what students or this country needs right now. Management needs to work with staff, not against them.'
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