UCU: 82% vote for strike to save jobs at Newcastle College

'Members of UCU at Newcastle College have today (Tuesday) voted to strike in their fight to save jobs.

Over four-fifths of members (82%) who voted, supported strike action and over nine in ten (91%) agreed to action short of a strike. The college has presented the union with plans for over 170 redundancies of which over three-quarters are teaching posts.

The union has accused the college of 'jumping the gun' and using the current funding difficulties in further education as an excuse to make cuts. UCU said the plans would have a devastating effect on the local economy, which has already seen a large increase in unemployment, and make it harder for the region to recover from the recession.

The result of today's ballot is further embarrassment for the college after it was revealed earlier this month that the principal, Jackie Fisher, enjoyed a whopping 32% annual pay rise for 2009/2010.'

Read more HERE.

See earlier story about the principal's pay HERE.

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