College job cuts strikes called off

Strikes at a college have been suspended after staff affected accepted new roles or took redundancy.

The walk-outs this month were planned at the University of Sheffield's International College in the city centre, which is run by education providers Study Group.

Changes in overseas student recruitment were cited as a reason for jobs being put at risk.

The University and College Union (UCU) branch chair, Dr Sam Morecroft, said staff had either taken voluntary redundancy or been redeployed. He added that strikes planned for March would go ahead if there was no guarantee that compulsory redundancies would be avoided.

The college teaches international students hoping to gain entry to courses at the university.

It is based in a university building and uses the same branding, but the Study Group holds a 10-year contract to run it.

The union claimed that Study Group employees were treated differently to university staff and faced the prospect of compulsory redundancy rather than voluntary severance agreements.

Last year, 36 staff in the student support and academic teaching teams were told they were at risk of redundancy, and four of those were still at risk until accepting trial redeployments on Tuesday.

Dr Morecroft said the provider should be "ashamed" that its long-serving staff were being "forced out onto picket lines" and said union members had been pressured to take on roles and scheduled into "rushed" job interviews.

Study Group said the cuts were necessary because of a fall in student numbers.

"Like many universities and higher education providers, we need to adapt staffing to recent changes in international recruitment," it said.

"Regrettably at Sheffield this means reducing employee numbers.

"As educators, we welcome the decision to suspend the strikes and avoid detriment to our students' education."

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