College staff ‘are feeling under siege’

SCOTLAND’S further education colleges have borne the brunt of massive job cuts in the public sector over the past year, new figures revealed yesterday.

A total of 1,800 jobs went from the 41 institutions across the country, all of which are facing massive budget cuts from Scottish ministers.

The 10.8 per cent drop in staffing levels was higher than the average for the public sector, where employment has fallen by 3.9 per cent. There are now 23,800 fewer people working in the public sector as a result, compared with last year.

The figures also showed there were 12,000 fewer council employees, with 283,500 people now working in local government, a drop of 4.1 per cent over the period. The number of people working in the NHS in Scotland fell by 2.3 per cent to 154,400.

Finance secretary John Swinney insisted last night that ministers had had to cope with “severe spending cuts from Westminster”. He added: “We are also setting an ambitious programme of public-service reform, challenging the public sector to reshape, integrate and deliver the best possible services.”

But Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Liam McArthur, MSP, said: “This is yet another dramatic fall in the number of staff employed in our colleges and will do nothing to lift morale in a sector that feels under siege at present.”

He added: “This uncertainty is made worse by ministers’ plans for wholesale college mergers, a process likely to lead to further job losses in the years ahead.”

The figures revealed that there are 586,600 people working in the public sector in Scotland. This accounts for 23.8 per cent of all employment in the country.

The public-sector employment figures also take in those employed in the banks that had to be bailed out with public cash, including the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Lloyds Banking Group and Northern Rock. Number here fell by 2,000 – or 5.7 per cent – to 32,800.