Are redundancy talks on hold due to holidays?

A UNION representative says talks about staff redundancies at Petroc have “ground to a halt” because senior managers have gone on holiday.

But managers at the college hit back at the claim, saying it was “simply untrue” — and talks had been ongoing throughout the summer.

In May, the college announced it was planning to make about 90 members of staff redundant in a drive to save £2 million over the next two years.

The college, which employs 1,250 people in North Devon and Tiverton, said it was being forced to reduce its running costs because of significant cuts in Government funding as well as an increase in costs for accommodation, staffing and building maintenance.

The college also said it had to service loans which it took out in preparation for a new building, the plans for which were mothballed last year, as well as repaying the debts it inherited when it merged with East Devon College in August 2008.

The college is carrying out a consultation, which ends on August 16, to identify which members of staff will be made redundant.

The redundancies are expected to hit those working in support and administration, around 60 per cent of whom are members of Unison.

Petroc Unison rep Mark Kelly said: “A lot of the senior managers are on annual leave at present so talks have ground to a halt which is a real bone of contention for us.

“We’ve only got a couple of weeks left to discuss important facts. We have a lot of unanswered questions with no one around to answer them.

“The next scheduled meeting looks like it will be around August 24, by which point a lot of staff will have already been let go. We won’t have a chance to do anything in the meantime, although we have requested another meeting before August 16.

“The college has already accepted 29 voluntary redundancies, meaning that the remaining 60 or so will be compulsory. That is a big deal for us and will obviously have a huge impact on members of staff.”

Petroc’s deputy principal, Ian Merchant, said: “The suggestion that talks have ground to a halt is simply untrue.

“Senior managers are meeting union representatives regularly over the summer, including this week.

“We have also maintained and encouraged access through an ‘open door’ policy, making ourselves available to staff and their union representatives throughout this process.”