Jobs to be shed at University of York (From York Press)
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Jobs to be shed at University of York
10:01am Monday 29th June 2009 in News
THE University of York is planning to shed jobs in the wake of growing financial pressures.
University bosses said today they did not yet know how many posts in the directorate of facilities management will go, but strongly denied suggestions made in a call to The Press that the figure could be as high as 350.
They stressed that most jobs would be lost through natural wastage, such as retirement and a freeze on recruiting new staff, but admitted there could be a “few” compulsory redundancies.
A spokesman said the organisation was changing some of its support services, which meant fewer staff posts would be required in future.
“We intend to achieve this reduction through redeployment of staff, a targeted recruitment freeze in those support services, and retirements,” he said.
“It is possible that these changes may include a few compulsory redundancies, but it is too early to say. If there are any, they will be few in number.”
He said the whole process was at a very early stage and so the university did not have a figure for how many posts would be lost.
“We have also not yet identified particular roles that will be lost within the directorate.”
News of the job losses comes just days after City of York Council revealed it is planning a major efficiency review to save £15 million, which could lead to as many as 350 jobs going.
Staff at the university’s facilities management directorate, which employs 655 individuals, carry out a myriad of activities, including cleaning, catering, conferences, fleet and transport management, maintenance, portering, security, supplies and stores.
The spokesman said the university was consulting in detail about the changes with staff and with trade union representatives.
He stressed the number of people employed by the university had been steadily rising in recent years, and it expected the trend to continue. “New jobs will be created on the Heslington East expansion in 2010, for example.”
A caller to The Press said staff had been told up to 350 jobs could be going, and the cuts were planned because the university was not immune to the credit crunch and was facing government cutbacks.
The spokesman said: “All universities are facing pressures in areas including pay, pension contributions and changes to Government funding and we must plan accordingly.”
A spokesman for the Unison union was unavailable for comment.
Comments(8)
Taken for a Mug
says...
12:18pm Mon 29 Jun 09
mystic_genius
says...
12:49pm Mon 29 Jun 09
Taken for a Mug wrote:
Does anyone actually get made redundant these days? it seems 'Natural Wastage' is the acceptable face of redundancy these days?
Redundancy is people who have the opportunity of work taken from them through no fault of their own. I.e. they have not been sacked, there is simply no work any more.
Natural wastage refers to someone leaving a post voluntarily, and the post not being re-filled.
VERY large difference.
intelligentviews
says...
2:33pm Mon 29 Jun 09
Procrastinaction
says...
3:12pm Mon 29 Jun 09
intelligentviews wrote:What do you suggest?
The tax payer shouldn't have to fund unnecessary posts(see Uni and Council)so best the jobs go, and they were more than likely not needed in the first place. There's been far too much over-manning in areas such as the above resulting in a huge waste of our money.
Streamline the Council and University?
Get rid of the jobs that are not 100% necessary?
Then the people who used to occupy these roles will sit at home on the dole. Then they will be funded 100% by the tax payer. Is this your solution?
If not, what is?
baileyuk
says...
3:38pm Mon 29 Jun 09
the loss of manual staff has been on the cards for several years but folk have but their heads in the sand, byebye 24 hour portering again!!!!!!!
Guy Fawkes
says...
4:40pm Mon 29 Jun 09
as i,ve said why not the higher earners at the uni subsidise the lower paid? i know of academics ect earning top money but only actually working a few hours a week.
Here we go again. As far as the 'top money' goes, it takes a bare minimum of 6-7 years in full-time education from leaving school to securing your first permanent job as an academic; in most cases it's nearly ten (nine in my case). It's true that we do earn significantly above the national average salary, but that reflects the fact that (i) it is a very specialist job that takes a lot of training, and (ii) our economically active careers are about a decade shorter than those of most professions. Incidentally, the average full-time university lecturer earns £48k, compared to £106k for the average hospital doctor. If the doctor makes a serious mistake, at least (s)he can only kill one patient at once. If our teaching and research is not carried out competently, we run the risk of affecting hundreds of people at once (Google Roy Meadow or Andrew Wakefield if you don't believe me).
As for only working a few hours a week, then unless you're referring to part-timers who are paid pro rata, this is rubbish. In today's target-driven culture no academic would get away with it. Sounds to me like you've been reading too much of the Laurie Taylor column in the Times Higher Ed Supplement.
baileyuk
says...
12:36pm Tue 30 Jun 09
this annoys me! some of the manual staff have had serious experience of different trades/management but have been unable to obtain a job within their trade so have taken a job doing what they do now,, no shame but because they wear a blue shirt ecy they are classed as lower classed people.
baileyuk says...
10:16am Mon 29 Jun 09
perhaps the main players at the university will take a reduction in their wage to assist the lower paid? hahah who am i kidding!