Queen's Students' Union workers put back on furlough scheme

Affected students and workers held protests outside the university

Queen's University Students' Union workers are being put back on the government's furlough scheme, the university has confirmed.

About 40 workers, mostly employed in events, conferencing and catering, were removed from the scheme in July.

The university previously said it did not have a commitment to provide casual hours of work this year.

Unite said most were left "with no income whatsoever" and described the latest development as a "huge success".

The government's Job Retention Scheme was extended until March 2021, allowing employers to retain staff while the government pays a percentage of their wages.

In a statement on Tuesday, Queen's said it had reassessed its decision and is "pleased that this matter has been brought to a conclusion to the satisfaction of both parties".

The university said this followed a review of the guidance on the furlough scheme and "following engagement between the university and Unite".

Queen's confirmed that payments would be backdated to November.

'Huge success'

Unite's hospitality organiser Neil Moore said: "The behaviour of Queen's University who refused to re-enrol them for furlough payments under the government's Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme was shocking.

"Queen's has now reversed their approach on the back of weeks of protests which received huge levels of support from the student body and the wider public."

He added: "This outcome is a huge success for Unite hospitality members at Queen's."

Barra Doherty spoke at protests organised against the initial decision to remove staff from furlough

Barra Doherty, 24, who works at the Students' Union, said it was a "great victory" for those affected, particularly "in the run-up to Christmas".

He told BBC News NI all of his work is in the events industry, but that some of his colleagues had been left "much worse off and on the poverty line".

He said: "This makes a huge difference to them."

Mr Doherty said the campaign had been "extremely demotivating and Queen's put up a wall at every stage by saying we were not eligible for the furlough scheme".

He added: "We thank Queen's and we're happy with the decision, but we are still dealing with the same university, so we are wary."