Staff to strike at Tower Hamlets
26 June 2009
Tower Hamlets College will be brought to a standstill on Friday July 3 after members of UCU voted to go on strike as part of their ongoing fight to save jobs and vital adult education courses.
The union is angry after Tower Hamlets announced that it will be axing 25 full-time posts and reducing student places on its 'Skills for Life' programme by over 50%, as well as getting rid of important outreach centres and support services for students and learners.
Tower Hamlets College works with some of the most underprivileged communities in London and UCU has said that it is deeply concerned about the impact the job losses and cuts to key social programmes will have on the local area. As a result of funding cuts by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) places for students looking to learn key skills in subjects such as English and maths will be slashed from 2,944 to 1,349 in 2009/10.
UCU said the planned cuts fly in the face of new government initiatives which call on local authorities to prioritise English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and fund courses for vulnerable and hard to reach groups. The union warned that essential courses which allow students to progress to the higher level English classes are precisely those which are being cut.
Campaigners are also worried about the reduction in outreach centres. The recent government White Paper on informal adult learning recognised the importance of such centres in encouraging people with negative experiences of learning back into education. Over the last three years over 1.4m adult education places have vanished across the UK, with many non-vocational courses being forced to close.
Alison Lord, UCU branch chair at Tower Hamlets College Poplar site, said: 'We regret having to taking strike action but what the college is planning is totally unacceptable. Cutting funds for English language courses and outreach centres is a massive threat to social inclusion at a time of recession. We are well aware of the difficulties the college is facing over LSC funding but this a huge overreaction. We have 800 students on waiting lists so to cut provision in half will hit some of the most vulnerable people in London. The college hasn't consulted either college staff or the community properly.'
UCU head of further education Barry Lovejoy said: 'The staff at Tower Hamlets College have the union's full support. These cuts would deprive the people of Tower Hamlets and the surrounding boroughs of a vital lifeline. With the onset of recession, thousands of unemployed people will look to local colleges and adult education centres to improve their skills. However, if cuts to adult education, like these at Tower Hamlets, go ahead potential students will find their options severely limited.'
Tower Hamlets College works with some of the most underprivileged communities in London and UCU has said that it is deeply concerned about the impact the job losses and cuts to key social programmes will have on the local area. As a result of funding cuts by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) places for students looking to learn key skills in subjects such as English and maths will be slashed from 2,944 to 1,349 in 2009/10.
UCU said the planned cuts fly in the face of new government initiatives which call on local authorities to prioritise English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and fund courses for vulnerable and hard to reach groups. The union warned that essential courses which allow students to progress to the higher level English classes are precisely those which are being cut.
Campaigners are also worried about the reduction in outreach centres. The recent government White Paper on informal adult learning recognised the importance of such centres in encouraging people with negative experiences of learning back into education. Over the last three years over 1.4m adult education places have vanished across the UK, with many non-vocational courses being forced to close.
Alison Lord, UCU branch chair at Tower Hamlets College Poplar site, said: 'We regret having to taking strike action but what the college is planning is totally unacceptable. Cutting funds for English language courses and outreach centres is a massive threat to social inclusion at a time of recession. We are well aware of the difficulties the college is facing over LSC funding but this a huge overreaction. We have 800 students on waiting lists so to cut provision in half will hit some of the most vulnerable people in London. The college hasn't consulted either college staff or the community properly.'
UCU head of further education Barry Lovejoy said: 'The staff at Tower Hamlets College have the union's full support. These cuts would deprive the people of Tower Hamlets and the surrounding boroughs of a vital lifeline. With the onset of recession, thousands of unemployed people will look to local colleges and adult education centres to improve their skills. However, if cuts to adult education, like these at Tower Hamlets, go ahead potential students will find their options severely limited.'
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