College lecturers set to strike
in battle over jobs and pay

The University and College Union (UCU) have announced they are to hold a strike at Kirklees College on Thursday next week.

The union has also accused the college of prioritising buildings over staff and students following its delayed move to a new £74m Waterfront campus in Huddersfield, which is due to open in September.

The union has accused the college of mismanaging the move meaning £2m of earnings in future years will have to be spent on capital and interest repayments on mortgages and loans.

In a ballot of members at the college four-fifths of those who voted backed strike action with more than 90 per cent supporting action short of a strike. The college said, however, that just over half UCU’s membership voted which only represents around one-in-five of the college’s total teaching staff.

The union says it is taking action because almost 60 staff face pay cuts of up to between £2,000 and £12,000-a-year or “detrimental” changes to their terms and condition while six staff were still at risk of losing their jobs. UCU regional official, Julie Kelley, said: “Members have made it quite clear that they are prepared to take industrial action to defend their pay and the education of their students. Strike action is always a last resort, but there is a genuine anger about the way the college has mismanaged recent events.

“Style is never a replacement for substance and fewer teachers with bigger classes and increased workloads are a poor return for new buildings and scant reward for staff who worked so hard to deliver a glowing Ofsted report.”

Melanie Brooke, vice principal for corporate services, said the college was meeting with staff and managers to understand how the action will affect it but said exams would not be disrupted. She said consultation with staff had meant it was likely that potentially less than five members of staff were at risk of losing their job.

Principal Peter McCann added: “The priority is to continue the excellent quality of provision that students receive at Kirklees College. To do this we must have a workforce designed to best meet our student and college needs and which is financially sustainable.”