Three days of strikes to hit Havant & South Downs College

The Principal and Chief Executive, Mike Gaston, announced his retirement this week, and this follows the announcement of formal intervention in the running of the college. 

The college is based over three sites, Alton, Havant and South Downs and staff will be picketing all three from 8am to 10am each day. 

The walkout follows a ballot of UCU members, in which 64% backed strike action on a turnout of 61%. National Education Union (NEU) members will also be joining the action. 

The dispute is over management's plans to axe around one in three staff by the end of the month due to a financial crisis of its making. The college claims it needs to cut £3.7m from its budget and wants to cut staff by 29% at Alton, 30% at Havant and 33% at South Downs.  The Department for Education has intervened in the management of the college, issuing a Financial Notice to Improve and demanding additional oversight from the Further Education Commissioner . 

College management has offered talks with UCU and NEU next week about how the strike can be avoided and the trade dispute resolved.  

UCU general secretary Dr Jo Grady said: 'UCU and NEU members will be on picket lines this month because the savings management is trying to achieve would result in devastating job cuts and learning and support provision being slashed.  It is hard to imagine how the college can continue to function, and students can continue to thrive with such severe cuts.' 

'HSDC is a college which has had outstanding teaching and learning, but staff and students have been let down by poor leadership and catastrophic failures in financial management. We now urgently need financial stability. The executive leadership team and board of governors must change course and work with the recognised unions to find a solution that protects provision and the college's future.'