28 March 2006

Lecturers stage 'funeral service' for contract

Dressed as pall-bearers, lecturers staged a 'funeral service' for their contract of employment at Oaklands College this week.

Branch members at the Hertfordshire college are furious about their management’s attempts to impose an inferior contract which they believe will damage students’ education.

Lecturers have been told that if they do not sign the new contract by Monday April 3, they will receive dismissal letters in the post. Those letters will arrive during the Easter break.

The proposed contract would remove the existing 24-hour weekly maximum limit on teaching hours meaning lecturers could end up teaching up to 37 hours, leaving significantly less time to prepare and mark student’s work.

The college also wants to introduce Performance Related Pay (PRP) which means lecturers’ salaries would be dependent on them meeting a list of criteria drawn up by the college.

On Monday, members at the St Alban’s City Campus held the ‘funeral’ (pictured), while members at the Welwyn Garden City campus also staged a funeral demonstration. Many then attended a rally in the Old Courtroom of the Old Town Hall where the contract of employment was placed in the dock.

At that rally, Barry Lovejoy, NATFHE’s head of colleges, congratulated the branch on a good start to the campaign.

He said: ‘I find it extraordinary and surprising that the management has come forward with these outdated and quite frankly discredited proposals. Then, rather than having the confidence in their proposals to consult and negotiate, they are trying to impose them by dictat.’

Oaklands branch secretary, David Brook, said:

‘After the funeral, we handed out a lot of leaflets to the general public explaining our position. Many were sympathetic when they understood that teachers have been threatened with the sack because they won’t sign an inferior contract. This is not about more money - we are taking action to maintain high-quality education for this community.’

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