Around 100 members of
staff at Stafford College staged an unprecedented walk-out last
Friday in protest against mismanagement and cuts. This followed a
meeting of around 300 in a lecture theatre where they twice voted for
no-confidence in the management of the college.
Teachers and other
members of staff at the college are demanding the resignation of
principle Beverly Smith. Ms. Smith and the management are blamed for
a culture of fear, bullying of staff, increased workloads and
unrealistic target setting, as well as general bad organisation.
Even Ofsted inspectors
identified the need for improvement in 'effectiveness of leadership
and management'!
Although the protest
was mainly focused at these areas of incompetence and treatment of
staff, the protest follows the recent announcement of a swathe of
cuts and redundancies. The college will face a drop in funding from
September, which workers and students are being made to take the
brunt of. It is telling that Ms. Smith has been quoted as saying,
'Our transformation will allow the college to be more efficient and
gives the opportunity to continue to improve and meet the needs of
our stakeholders'. Yet again, we are seeing the
consequences of privatisation - the greed of a few over the needs of
the many.
A 30-day 'consultation
period' is currently underway with unions and staff. Cuts and
redundancies will be announced after this, the main attacks likely to
be on adult education. This is on top of redundancies and funding
cuts from central government from previous years. $1 million was cut
at the same time last year with 69 workers facing the axe.
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| No confidence in management |
UCU Rep Robert
Trimmings, who campaigned for TUSC in the May elections, highlighted
the anger, citing the example of e-mails being sent out to all
members of staff threatening redundancy even though no decisions have
yet been made. It is no wonder staff are protesting a 'culture of
fear' and refusing to tolerate this bullying by management.
Marina Bowler, also a
UCU rep, made a statement in the local paper, The Express & Star,
saying:
'Staff
feel they are operating in a culture of fear and they feel like they
are being bullied. Workloads have gone up, stress levels have gone
up. Staff are not being listened to and skills are not being
utilised. Good staff have left the organisation and been made
redundant.
The
issues have been ongoing since Christmas and staff have now reached
the point where desperate action is needed.
I
think initially we were viewed as a small militant faction of lefties
but it is totally not the case as proven by events today.
This
is a lobby with a view to further action. We have been trying for six
months to negotiate with the college. We don’t want to go down the
route of industrial action. We are passionate about the college, it
is an amazing place to be.
But
that care is not being supported by a positive culture and it is not
being supported by principal Beverley Smith.'
Some of the protesters present were those who had left their jobs in
recent months. Since
September 19 full-time workers, 11 part-time staff and 16 sessional
employees have handed in their notice.
In recent months, staff have also marched on a board of governers
meeting demanding the standing down of management, following a vote
of no confidence in a union meeting of around 100 staff. Union
membership has increased rapidly in this short period.
It is workers; teachers, technicians, cleaners and so on that know
how to do their jobs to the highest standards and know how best to
run the service they provide day-in-day-out. Beverly Smith and the
management have proved they are not capable of running Stafford
College. By exercising their collective power, staff have
demonstrated that the management have lost their confidence, and are
no longer fit to lead. Beverly Smith must 'do the right thing', as a
speaker at the protest put it, and stand down. If she refuses,
workers should push for official strike action, as well as inviting
students for their support. With united action we can build a quality
college that serves the needs and rights of workers and students and
not the 'stakeholders'.
