Minister urged to stop 'misguided' FE redundancies

Economy Minister Conor Murphy has been urged to intervene and stop the “misguided redundancy scheme" currently ongoing in the North's six further education colleges.

Representatives of National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) and University and College Union (UCU) pressed their case at a meeting with Minister Murphy on Monday.

The Minister said he was currently taking advice on the options available to him for the future of the scheme.

Minister Murphy, who was urged to redirect the money earmarked for redundancies towards a pay settlement in the sector, said he was “very keen to ensure further education staff get a pay uplift as soon as possible”.

Speaking to Derry News following the meeting, Maxine Murphy Higgins, who is the NASUWT Policy and Case Worker (Northern Ireland), said NASUWT had impressed upon [Minister Murphy] the challenges that have faced Further Education Members over the last number of years.

“He advised that he was aware of the real challenges and it was the Executive Team’s priority to resolve the pay in the public sector including FE as soon as possible,” she said.

“He advised that the Department of Finance was currently working on the exact amount of money that the Executive has to work with.

“We again implored him to intervene and put a stop to the redundancies in the further education sector as we believe the further education sector is central to rebuilding the economy in the post Covid landscape.

“We also highlighted that the further education sector is long overdue for a review and that making job reductions at this time is premature. 

“We also highlighted the fact that this money could be redirected to the pay settlement in the further education sector,” said Ms Murphy Higgins.

In an open letter to Minister Murphy, prior to the meeting, the trade unions  - UCU, NASUWT, Unite the Union, NIPSA and GMB - made a public plea for him to “stop the misguided redundancy scheme”.

In the letter, Katharine Clarke, UCU Northern Ireland Official, said: “The Permanent Secretary in the Department of Education took a decision that further cuts were not in the public interest, but successive Permanent Secretaries in the Department for the Economy (DfE) refused to implement the same safeguarding measures.

“The department for which you now have ministerial responsibility, is directing colleges to axe more than 300 jobs from the sector. In so doing, comparisons are being drawn between enrolment figures in 2018/19 to 21/22. The true picture shows there has been an increase in student recruitment from 21/22 to 22/23, with that trend continuing this academic year.

“The reality is the department has not given the colleges sufficient opportunity to recover from the impact of the pandemic before it has instructed widespread cost-cutting.

“The further education sector is central to rebuilding the economy in the post Covid landscape. Colleges are the centres for re-skilling those whose jobs in affected industries disappeared, and for training new apprentices, providing vocational pathways for the career young.”

She added: “Without a substantial pay increase it will be impossible for colleges to attract and retain the experienced staff essential to aid economic recovery.

“Colleges simply cannot continue to be outbid for staff by the rest of the education sector when their role is crucial to labour supply and stimulating growth. For the DfE to prioritise financing redundancies above properly resourcing the sector and those who work in it is, in our view, grotesque, and a misuse of public money.

“It also appears the DfE did not undertake any workforce profiling across the six colleges to establish whether an enhanced redundancy payment scheme will achieve assumed long-term cost savings.

“The trade unions are aware, from engaging directly with our members, volunteers for severance are those who are advanced in their careers. 

“In other words, these departures could be reasonably forecast over the next few years without the need for the public purse to finance expensive exit packages to the detriment of student provision and much needed staff pay increases.”

Her letter described it as “premature” to be effecting redundancies when a wholesale review of the sector is long overdue.

She added: “Particularly so, when recommendations have been made by the Independent Review of Education about the sector’s future departmental location.

“We implore you to immediately withdraw authority for financing of the scheme and redirect the monies to assisting settlements of outstanding pay claims.”

Speaking at the conclusion of his meeting with Maxine Murphy-Higgins (NASUWT), Katharine Clarke (UCU) and Martin Cunningham (UCU), Minister Murphy said he was “very keen to ensure further education staff get a pay uplift as soon as possible”.

'Bullying' claims at NWRC Derry

Strike: NWRC Derry Lecturers 'threatened' with 'breach of employment' consequences over ongoing industrial action in pursuit of their pay claim

Stop 'misguided' FE redundancies Minister urged

Redundancy scheme currently being rolled out across the North's six Further Education colleges

He added: “Today’s meeting with representatives from the UCU and NASUWT unions was constructive. 

“Further education staff have faced real challenges over the past two years, but have continued to deliver high quality teaching and learning opportunities to their students. 

“Some issues remain to be worked through and resolved between the college employers and the unions, and we are also operating within a difficult financial context. But I hope that we will soon be in a position to deliver a pay award.

“We also discussed the staff exit scheme. I am currently taking advice on the options available to me for the future of the scheme.”