Teachers and education professionals at the National Education Union have today condemned the newly formed ‘super college’, the East Sussex College Group, after it launched an unprecedented attack on employment and union rights.
The tax payer funded Group, a merger of the former Sussex Downs (Eastbourne & Lewes) and Sussex Coast College (Hastings) unilaterally de-recognised employees’ trade union this week, and has withdrawn elected reps’ rights to represent colleagues.
The action, by the Colleges, which have, according to recent accounts paid senior staff over £160,000 a year, comes after a period of good industrial relations and in the middle of student recruitment season with open events planned to demonstrate the leading academic and technical education on offer to students. A NEU teacher activist at one of the Group’s colleges added:
“We were so excited about the new academic year, yet management have acted like some sort of Victorian mill owner and told us they will no longer recognise our union nor let our elected reps do their job. It’s upsetting and is no doubt due to the success of the NEU in protecting education provision and compulsory redundancies over many years where others unions have not been able to do so”
National Education Union (NUT section) Regional Officer, Nick Childs commented:
“Our members and community were promised stability and improvement in further education provision,
after years of decline, yet within weeks of opening, College leadership have reverted back to past form by attacking staff. By doing so, they place the education of students at risk by provoking an unnecessary industrial dispute, causing low morale and poor staff retention”
“If college management think that by trying to deny employees’ union rights that they will be able to more easily force through job and education cuts they are sorely wrong. Our members are made of sterner stuff and will not allow anti-union practices to prevail."
"Their conduct runs contrary to their stated aim to comply with Association of Colleges (AoC) Code of Good Governance for English Colleges, building on the Seven Principles of Public Life and will inevitably lead to industrial action unless urgently resolved”
The National Education Union has written to the College Group request an urgent meeting and calling on them to sign a formal recognition agreement or face a possible strike ballot and high profile campaign.
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