Telford staff back strikes as talks fail

Around 300 staff and students demonstrated against proposed cuts in March

Lecturers plan to strike on at least two occasions, once this month and once in August, though the dates have yet to be ratified by the EIS teaching union.

Staff said they "do not relish" strike action, but said they have been left with no choice after relations with college principal Miles Dibsdall hit an all-time low. It comes after staff last week passed a vote of no confidence in the principal.

Sources said he refused to negotiate further until the union apologised publicly for the move.

One told the Evening News: "He called a meeting with our negotiating team and his condition for returning to the table was that we had to apologise through the press.

"What we did was we agreed to withdraw the vote of no confidence - which was gracious of us - so we could get back round the negotiating table."

However, after further breakdowns in the talks, the union said it was left with no other choice but industrial action.

The source said: "There was nothing else we could do at that stage. Members had gone as far as they could go. The vote of no confidence now stands again.As far as management is concerned, negotiations are over.

"We had a ballot for industrial action where almost 90 per cent voted in favour of strike action. The most effective time from our point of view will be in August, when all the inductions are taking place, but we don't want this to happen."

Up to 70 jobs are thought to be under threat as college bosses look to save 1.8 million in the next year following a reduction in government funding.

The college is also planning to cut courses in a variety of areas, including plumbing, welding, languages, and science.

College management has called in ACAS - an organisation devoted to preventing and resolving employment disputes - in a bid to move negotiations forward.

Mr Dibsdall said: "With regard to the strike ballot, there has not been overwhelming support in favour of a strike.

"We have 219 EIS members at Telford College that were balloted over potential industrial action and only 117 (around 53 per cent) actually returned their ballots.

"Of these, 89 per cent voted in favour of taking action.

"We have invited ACAS to support us in finding a way forward and we are still awaiting a response from EIS as to whether they will support this initiative.

"The management are doing all they can to support ongoing consultation.

"At Edinburgh's Telford College it is business as usual."

Around 300 staff and students gathered outside Mr Dibsdall's office last month to stage a protest about the cuts.

The union accused him of "retracting" his promise that job losses would only happen as a result of the first year of government cuts and not in the following two years.