Shocked, arts students discover a compulsive redundancy being made in their department

Enraged arts students marched in protest this afternoon after discovering a staff member from the City of Liverpool College’s Arts Department has been compulsively made redundant due to further education cuts.

The arts students and supporting staff marched from the Arts Centre, on Myrtle Street, to the college’s Learning Exchange on Roscoe Lane, waving bold banners and chanting, ‘No ifs, no buts, no education cuts!’.

Currently the College’s Art Department hold 11 staff, and possibly as early as Monday a redundancy will be made.

A speaker on behalf of the arts students said: “Staff cuts mean less tutors, less time and bigger class sizes.”

Campaigning alongside them were members from the University and College Union (UCU), founded in 2006 by a combination of teacher and lecturer unions, who aim to stop the attack on further education to prevent long-term damage to the quality of teacher education in England.

Martin Ralph, UCU Representative and the Vice President of Liverpool’s Trade Union Congress (TUC), said: “If we link together, we can stop the attack”

“It is very important for union branches to support each other. We heard about this attack on staff and students, and what’s happening here really undermines public education.”

During the protest, Mr. Ralph gave a speech on how the City College and the UCU work hand in hand to support each other during these difficult times of funding cuts and redundancies being made.

Last year the City College experienced a £3.5m cut in its budget, which has massively impacted both the staff and students, especially considering these courses are accessible for deprived and unemployed adults.

In October, the Liverpool Echo reported that Minister Robert Halfon deemed the College to be financially failing, and as a consequence was placed in ‘administered college status’.

The Thirteenth Report of 2015-2016 of Overseeing financial sustainability in the further education sector, by the Committee of Public Accounts, said: “[Some colleges] had experienced a real-terms funding cut of 27% in the last 5 years, combined with some significant cost increases, for example relating to pensions, national insurance contributions and redundancy payments.”

Stuart Greenhalgh, a UCU supporter and a representative of the City of Liverpool College, said: “We think there are still more hours that need to be taught.”

One City College Art student who attended the protest said: “They are specifically targeting art students. They just don't understand art.”

To continue the protest against further education cuts, two coaches of UCU supporters from the City College and the University of Liverpool will be heading to London this Saturday for a mass demonstration.

Titled ‘United for Education’, the UCU will join with the National Union of Students (NUS) to defend free, accessible and quality further and higher education and to demand an end to privatisation and cuts in universities and colleges.