Stirling University SSP Society and SSP Stirling Branch
welcomes the Supreme Court’s decision to back the University and College Union
over Stirling University’s dispute with staff.
This has been a lengthy legal battle between University management and staff,
and we look forward to a final decision in favour of the employees who were
made redundant in 2009. This is a victory not only for the staff involved at
Stirling, but for university and college staff across the country, particularly
those employed under limited-term contracts.
The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992 expressly
prohibits employers from dismissing 20 or more members of staff as redundant
without consulting the trade union representatives of staff affected. During
the cutbacks in spending in 2009, Stirling University agreed to make 140 full
time employees redundant, and accepted 134 voluntary severance applications.
The University did consult with the UCU during its decision to make 140
permanent University staff redundant. However, it failed to include employees
on limited-term contracts during these consultations.
The 1992 Act states that dismissal as redundant is defined
as dismissal “for a reason not related to the individual concerned.” As the
University has admitted that these contracts were allowed to lapse due to
cutbacks, this effectively renders those employees as “dismissed as redundant”.
In this case, it is clear that the University acted in contravention to UK
employment law, and the SSP supports the dismissed staff in their fight for
compensation and fair redundancy pay.
The case will now be referred back to the employment
tribunal, and we hope for a speedy resolution to all outstanding matters in
this case. Whilst the SSP supports the decision of the Supreme Court, it also
notes with dismay the University’s tactic of waiting for limited-term contracts
to lapse in order to get rid of staff – this must change. We sincerely hope
that University management will take this victory by the UCU as a lesson
learned, and will seek to act in a fair and legal manner in any future dealings
with staff employed by the University.
We would also add at this juncture that the SSP demands that
all University staff be paid a living wage – the University employs over 1,400
staff across campus. They do an indispensable job, from keeping our campus
safe, to cleaning our lecture theatres, to working in the various cafes and
restaurants across campus. The SSP believes that paying staff less than the
living wage is tantamount to exploitation, and we would strongly encourage the
University to reassess its policy regarding staff pay and join the ranks of
employers across Scotland committed to paying a decent wage.
Stirling University SSP Society and SSP Stirling Branch
would like to extend a message of solidarity with those affected in this case,
and assert that we will continue to stand on the side of those workers treated
unfairly by employers.
In solidarity,
SSP Stirling Branch