Staff to be balloted for strike action at South Tyneside College

At an emergency meeting yesterday, UCU members voted overwhelmingly to press ahead with the ballot after the college presented the union with plans that put 200 jobs at risk. On top of the redundancies some lecturers will also have their pay cut by as much as £11,000 per year.
 
The ballot comes just months after 38 staff accepted voluntary redundancy. In addition, another 38 posts were also lost over the summer.
 
The union said the plans were yet more bad news for education in the north-east, which has seen Newcastle College and Bishop Auckland College announce plans for over 370 redundancies between them.
 
UCU regional support official, Jon Bryan, said: 'Staff at South Tyneside have been hit with the double whammy of job cuts and a huge reduction in pay. These plans are the last thing the region needs right now and will stop the college from meeting the needs of the communities it is here to serve.
 
'Everyone is aware of the cuts in further education funding but the severity of these plans will come back and haunt the institution and make it much harder to retain and recruit staff in the future. Our members will do all they can to protect their jobs and pay, and the education of their students.'