Protest at Lewisham Southwark College over job cuts

Staff at Lewisham Southwark College will take part in a protest on Wednesday over plans to cut 85 jobs. The rally will take place outside the Lewisham Campus on Lewisham Way from 12.30pm.

The proposed redundancies are part of a review of staff, affecting academic and support staff in a host of departments including business and finance, visual arts, construction, and health.

UCU said the cuts would jeopardise the college's ability to provide high quality education for the local community. The union called on the college to halt the cuts in favour of a plan focused on growth and investment.

UCU regional support official, Josephine Grahl, said: 'These cuts would have a significant impact on the ability of the college to provide high quality education for the local community. Years of cutbacks at the college have already reduced opportunities and these latest proposals would only worsen the situation.

'We have asked management to give us a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies and work with us to explore alternative strategies which focus on growth and investment.'