Richmond upon Thames College: Teachers strike over fire-and-rehire dispute

Teachers are planning to strike for five days in protest at changes to their contracts

Teachers at a college in south-west London have begun a week-long strike against plans to "fire-and-rehire" staff to reduce their holiday allowance.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) at Richmond upon Thames College are set to walk out from 23-28 May.

The union said "deplorable" contract changes could affect 127 teachers.

The college said it was a "worst-case scenario" for their 3,600 students.

The strike action has come after the college proposed to dismiss all teaching staff and rehire them on new contracts with a net total of eight fewer holiday days.

It called the proposal "dismiss and re-engage", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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The practice is when employers look to change the conditions of their employees contracts - usually to worse terms.

The union said the changes could affect 127 teachers, but the college claimed the figure is lower since they issued notice of the proposals in March.

Exams may be boycotted as part of the action

In a statement Richmond upon Thames College added that a number of staff are on fixed-term contracts which "may or may not be required depending on student numbers for next year".

The union said 97% of its members who took part in a ballot voted for strike action, while 100% voted for action short of a strike, which could mean that teachers will refuse to cover colleagues and not reschedule classes after the strike.

Assessments may also be boycotted as part of the strikes.

'Worst employers in the country'

The union's general secretary Jo Grady said the college's behaviour was "deplorable" and would be met "by the full force of our union".

UCU London regional official, Adam Lincoln, said: "The management at Richmond upon Thames College are joining the ranks of some of the worst employers in the country by threatening their own workforce with the sack if they refuse to accept worse terms and conditions.

He added that teachers had "dedicated themselves to supporting their students, not least during the pandemic."

Labour MP and fire-and-rehire activist Barry Gardiner made an appearance at the protest on Monday

MP for Brent North, Barry Gardiner, who saw his attempts to ban "fire-and-rehire" blocked by government in 2021 called the college's actions a "disgrace."

Richmond upon Thames College said the changes were being made with the students best interests in mind.

"The college has demonstrated a genuine desire to negotiate on the overall package of benefits including pay and levels of annual leave and has confirmed the offer of 100% financial compensation (consolidated) for the net reduction in annual leave," a statement read.

"It is important that we get the right balance between working time and annual leave.

"Without the changes that we are proposing, the college will be unable to deliver the level of service that our students deserve."

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