UNIONS at Herefordshire College of Technology (HCT) have passed a vote of no confidence in the Chair of Governors and intend industrial action against a partial pay award proposed to help the college out of its cash plight.

In the six months since a financial recovery plan was effected HCT has shaved more than £300,000 off an operating deficit of around £1.5 million. The target is to break even by 2003.

But members of UNISON and NATFHE (National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education) have been told the college can't meet the current nationally agreed pay award of 3.7 per cent. Instead the Governors are offering a one-off £150 'performance payment' to staff.

Although the unions, representing lecturers, technicians and administration workers, accept the aims of the recovery plan, UNISON's Alan Leary said frustration arose at the absence of any 'meaningful dialogue' over its related pay offer.

It was, he said, presented as a done deal.

Unconvinced

So some 60 staff - 20 per cent of the college's full time work force - attended a joint meeting last Thursday (March 7) to pass a vote of no confidence in the Chair of Governors and hear options for industrial action. A concentration on core tasks is the likely response, essentially 'no extra pay, no extra work'. There's one crucial concession. Pip Williams of NATFHE said student interests would dictate the extent of any action undertaken.

The no-confidence vote indicated uneasiness with a management strategy that 'consistently' led to money being lost on schemes such as franchising said Mr Williams. Amongst members, he said, this uneasiness manifested itself in the attitude 'they made the errors, we have to pay'.

Unconvinced by future financial projections, as presented so far, the unions want to put their own ideas to the board and hear some evidence of an improved 'rollover' pay deal on the way next year.

Dr Paul Loncharich, Principal and Chief Executive of HCT said the £150 was a performance payment recognising financial recovery so far.

"We sympathise with the position of our staff with regard to pay and the decision was not taken lightly. The board has to act in the best interests of our students, to protect jobs and ensure the college has a sound financial base to build a secure future."

The pay policy, he said, applied to staff at all levels including management.

HCT is working with the Learning and Skills Council for Herefordshire & Worcestershire on the two-year Recovery Plan designed to reduce the college's £1.5 million funding gap and depletion of reserves (see HT 28/9/00).

The issue has its origins in the mid-1990s when HCT grew by more than 25 per cent, mainly out of contracts with other providers who carried out training on its behalf. This growth then became set in yearly targets, with the additional income used as a financial support for other courses.

When the national policy on franchising changed such work was reduced, and the college could not hit funding targets based on its Herefordshire student numbers. An overall income loss of more than £1 million was expected as sizeable subsidy sums were claimed back.

In the six months since its instigation, the Recovery Plan has cut back that operating deficit by more than £300,000. The intention is to break even by July 2003.