Hull College Group job losses: Staff vote for strike action

Hull College has three main centres in Hull, Goole and Harrogate

Staff working at three Yorkshire colleges have voted for strike action over plans to cut 231 posts.

Hull College Group, which runs colleges in Hull, Goole and Harrogate, has begun a restructuring plan to deal with a £10m deficit.

The ballot was held by the University and College Union (UCU), who said that 79% of staff who voted backed the action.

The college said action would not solve "financial and operational issues".

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Union officials have said the redundancies would see about a third of the workforce cut.

'Deeply damaging'

UCU regional official Julie Kelley said 57% of union members took part in the ballot.

"The overwhelming vote for strike action reflects the strength of anger amongst staff about these job cuts," she said.

"The proposals would be deeply damaging for the college, its students and the local community."

In a statement, Hull College said it had appointed a new management team and was "committed to an ongoing consultation which seeks to minimise potential job losses".

The college added: "We urge our union colleagues to work productively with us through this process and avoid the inevitable disruption the result of this ballot will cause for our current students and ability to recruit new ones."

Last year, the college's financial management was criticised in a report by the Further Education Commissioner.

The commissioner said the college's financial health had "fallen from good in 2012-13 to inadequate in 2015-16".

The report added there was concern "the college has had significant failures in financial management. Leadership and governance needs to improve in this respect".