Dispute at Coleg y Cymoedd

Two jobs in hair and beauty department, and several jobs in the Adult Community Learning department are at risk.

Although the college has stated that they are yet to ask the governors permission to instigate compulsory redundancies and are looking at every avenue to avoid them, they will not rule them out.  The college is fully aware of UCU Wales and UCU Coleg y Cymoedd policy, that the threat of compulsory redundancies will initiate a dispute and potential industrial action and are proud that there have been no compulsory redundancies in any FE College in Wales for more than 8 years.  

The branch are clear that they will not simply stand by and allow Coleg y Cymoedd to be the first college in Wales to make compulsory redundancies. The branch urge the college to provide the simple statement to avoid an unnecessary escalation, which could damage industrial relations.

Paul Davies of the UCU Coleg Y Cymoedd branch said: 'The college has so far refused to rule out compulsory redundancies, so members have been left with no option but to ballot for strike action. The lack of partnership on this issue shows a total disregard for the staff members and the implications the threat of redundancies has on their lives.  We urge the college to sit down with UCU to explore alternatives to redundancy and minimise the impact of any restructure plans on staff.'

The union expects to call strike action for 2 days day in August 2018 (29^th and 30^th) and 3 days in September (3^rd 4^th and 5^th) with further strike action if necessary.