Staff at Richmond College are striking this week over a controversial 'fire and rehire' scheme that will force them to accept a reduction in working terms.

A rally outside the college this morning drew large number of supporters, including Labour MP Barry Gardiner.

Staff claim the management is effectively sacking 127 teachers and forcing them to reapply for their jobs on new terms that cut leave by up to 10 days a year.

They claim the institution is in a state of chaos and that they feel broken by how they have been treated with many now looking to quit.

The industrial action is taking place from today through until Friday and follows a vote where 97% of University and College Union (UCU) members backed a strike. The turnout of its members was 88%.

The five days of strike action will be immediately followed by staff working strictly to contract, after 100% of those who voted said yes to action short of strike.

This could include refusing to cover for colleagues, refusing to use personal IT facilities including Wi-Fi and broadband, refusing to reschedule lectures or classes cancelled due to strike action, and a boycott of assessments.

The union claims that management began the controversial 'fire and rehire' process, without any prior engagement or consultation. It said this is at odds with the College's claims that 'trust', 'integrity' and 'excellence' are the values that 'underpin everything' it does.

The UCU said holiday entitlement is one of the few perks in a college that pays qualified teachers as little as £26,000 a year.

Teachers with over 13 years' experience only earn around £37,000, which is lower than at most colleges in the surrounding area, while teachers at local schools can earn up to £51,000.

UCU 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. But staff are not going to take this lying down and the overwhelming vote for strike action proves just that.

"The 127 teachers who now face a battle to save their jobs have dedicated themselves to supporting their students, not least during the pandemic.

"The fact that management are trying to slash 10 days from their holiday entitlement is a mark of shame for the entire college, and one which will prompt fury amongst students and the local community."

UCU general secretary Jo Grady, said: "The management team at Richmond upon Thames are effectively putting a gun to the head of their own staff.

"It is deplorable behaviour and it will be met with the full force of our union."

In a statement, the College said it was 'hugely disappointed to see strike action go ahead'.

It said: "RuTC is currently a significant outlier within the FE sector, with the current very high levels of annual leave entitlement preventing us from being able to allocate specific non-teaching days for staff training, development, collaboration and support for students.

"The dispute with UCU has arisen over the proposal to reduce the current 64 days per year of annual leave (including Bank Holidays and efficiency days) to a level in line with other Further Education (FE) colleges."

The College said this equates to a net loss of eight days and that staff are being fully compensated for this. It said the UCU represent fewer than 50% of teaching staff and a significant number of staff have agreed the new terms.

The College described any move to terminate contracts and rehire staff under new arrangements as a 'worst case scenario'.

It added: "The College will be doing everything we can to minimise disruption to our students' ongoing teaching, learning and assessment … some students may notice little disruption, others may experience more. We are investigating a range of options to enable any lost learning to be recovered, wherever possible.

"The strike action will not impact on the operation of formal exams that will be taking place at RuTC during the week of the strike."