Lecturer quits over possible job cuts at colleges

11:50am Thursday 22nd October 2009

By John Geoghegan

A LECTURER has reportedly walked out of his job in protest over possible staff cuts at two colleges which are set to merge.

Angry teaching staff at South East Essex College, in Southend, and Thurrock+and+Basildon+College">Thurrock and Basildon College are worried that there will be redundancies as a result of the merger of the two colleges.

A lecturer and manager at Thurrock and Basildon, who did not wish to be named, said he believes 145 jobs could be lost in total, but a spokesman for SEEC said no redundancies were yet confirmed.

SEEC has nearly 1,000 staff while Thurrock and Basildon has around 600. The lecturer said middle management had been sent letters, from SEEC and Thurrock and Basildon College about the restructuring process, which had sparked their concerns.

He said 75 staff would have to reapply for their jobs and only 22 positions were available.

The lecturer said: “Everybody will be affected, but middle management have been targeted first.

“We were issued with job-at-risk notifications. The mood is pretty miserable among staff.

“But we are very professional and making sure there is no impact on the students.

“One manager walked out, citing the merger as the reason for leaving and saying staff were being treated unfairly.”

The lecturer said middle managers have until November 2 to reapply for their jobs, following a consultation period.

He said other lecturers and support staff would be the next group affected by the restructuring.

The two colleges are planning to merge by January 2010 serving 20,000 students across south Essex.

The new college will be called South Essex College of Further and Higher Education. Seevic College in Thundersley is not involved.

But college chiefs have denied that there are any figures for planned job cuts as part of the merger and said staff are being consulted.

The head of marketing and communications at SEEC, Marco Scarola, said that no redundancies have been confirmed yet and no numbers for job cuts have yet been talked about.

He said that the University and College Union had been informed by the college, as they are legally required to do, that potential redundancies could be up to 99, but this was a standard figure used in such processes.

Mr Scarola added: “It would be completely wrong to talk of numbers at this stage.”

In a statement, the acting principal of Thurrock and Basildon College, Julia Spearman, said: “A proposed management structure for the newly merged college is now being offered for consultation with existing management at both colleges.

“Subject to this consultation, interviews for these posts will take place in November.

“In line with legal requirements, relevant trade unions and all managers were notified that they may possibly be under risk of redundancy.

“This does not necessarily mean that managers are being made redundant and all managers are being closely consulted with and have opportunities to apply for posts within the new structure.

“All staff across all sites should be assured that they will continue to be involved at every stage of this process.”