LEADING trade unionists across Scotland have written to John Swinney as a Trade Union Education Centre (TUEC) is at risk of closure.
The TUEC at City of Glasgow College has been labelled a “vital” education resource for trade union reps, giving them the skills they need to represent their members in the workplace.
Whilst some unions offer their own in-house training service, many rely on centres like the one in Glasgow to train union reps.
Funded partially by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) through TUC education, the centre employs six staff – five tutors, and one support staff. In the 32 years it has been open, the centre has trained thousands of workers.
However, following a series of cuts at City of Glasgow College – fuelled by a wider lack of funding in the further education sector – management are now exploring options to close the centre.
Leading trade unionists wrote to FM John Swinney today calling for him to intervene to prevent the closure of Glasgow Trade Union Education Centre pic.twitter.com/9kqeR3XYRg
— Save Glasgow Trade Union Education Centre (@SaveglasgowTUed) June 6, 2024
A representative from the centre told The National that the senior management team at the college took an “anti-union” approach and wanted to see the centre close as a result.
A campaign has now been launched to save the centre, with an open letter sent on Thursday to the First Minister urging him to work with trade unions and college management to “lift the threat”.
The letter was signed by more than 20 leading trade unionists from unions including Unite, RMT, UCU, GMB, EIS and ASLEF, as well as Roz Foyer and Dave Moxham, general secretary and deputy general secretary of the STUC.
Scottish Labour regional MSP for Glasgow Pam Duncan-Glancy (below) submitted a motion to the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, calling on Parliament to share concern at the potential closure of the centre, and to note calls for the threat of closure to be lifted.
Duncan-Glancy called threats to close the centre “an attack on the trade union movement”, encouraging people to write to their MSPs urging them to sign the motion.
Meanwhile, Simon Barrow, national secretary of the SNP Trade Union Group, called the move “a frontal attack on working class education across Scotland”.
He continued: “The SNP Trade Union Group condemns the disgraceful threat to the Trade Union Education Centre at City of Glasgow College.
“The recent treatment of Further Education workers by employers has also been despicable.
“We want to see action from the Scottish Government to help end this dispute in a just way – one that puts jobs, services and decent pay and conditions first.”
A City of Glasgow College spokesperson said: “Currently, the Trade Union Congress Education Centre (TUC EC) is operating at a vastly reduced capacity because of the continued downturn in demand for trade union education.
“Many trade unions are now seeking alternative in-house training for their lay union representatives, rather than sourcing this training from the College. In recent years, the TUC EC has been costing the College between £150,000 to £100,000 each year to run, which is financially unviable during these very challenging financial times for the sector.
“The proposal to not renew the contract with the TUC is subject to consultation, so no final decision has bene taken to close the TUC EC when the current Partnership Agreement with the TUC lapses at the end of this academic year.
“All colleges in Scotland are continuing to face significant multi-year financial and funding challenges and are having to find big savings and generate additional income.
“As Scotland's largest college, we are projecting a deficit for academic year 2024/25 of almost £2 million, and we are therefore exploring every option to balance the books as we are required to do."
Read the full letter below.
Dear First Minister,
We write to you as representatives of the trade union movement in Scotland in response to the appalling proposal from the senior management at City of Glasgow College to close the Trade Union Education Centre.
The centre has been in existence, in one form or another, for 30 years and has provided a range of educational courses to union reps and shop stewards from a variety of industrial sectors. It has trained thousands of workers who play a vital role representing their colleagues in the workplace and maintaining positive and constructive industrial relations. All of this aligns with the Scottish Government's commitment to the fair work agenda.
Sadly however, industrial relations at the college itself are very poor; the closure proposal comes after a period of prolonged industrial action over pay and job losses. We believe this is no coincidence and that is further evidence of the hostile approach to trade unions taken by college senior management who are using the obvious downturn in course generated income that occurred during the Covid pandemic and periods of strike action, as cover for a policy decision to close the centre. If the centre is allowed to close, then there will be a significant and damaging impact on the capacity to deliver trade union education in Scotland.
Contrary to the position stated by the college, the STUC through TUC Education provides very significant funds to support for the Trade Union Education Centre. This is, of course, in addition to the large sums drawn down through SFC credit funding, not to mention income from the Collective Learning Partnership.
This leaves us in no doubt that the centre is an entirely viable operation with a strong, positive and sustainable future. On becoming First Minister you said, “A partnership with trade unions and business will be at the core of my approach.”
Now is the opportunity to turn those words into action.
We are therefore calling on you to work in partnership with the trade unions and the college management to lift the threat to this vital educational resource.
It is inconceivable that the great city of Glasgow with its proud trade union history might not have a Trade Union Education Centre to train the next generation of workers representatives.
