The sacking of a teacher who worked at a Liverpool college for 30 years has sparked protests by her former colleagues.
Nina Doran was as a lecturer in Teacher Education and English at the City of Liverpool College until she was suspended on September 20, with the college citing a breach of confidence. She learned that she would be sacked earlier this month.
Ms Doran joined the college in September 1991. Alongside her teaching positions, she was also a representative for the Universities and Colleges Union branch at the city college, and would liaise with the UCU’s national office to organise unionised workers during industrial disputes.
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She said: "Because I was out of the workplace, I thought that maybe, maybe the suspension won’t go the whole way to a dismissal. It was all a bit of rollercoaster in the end. It’s just shocking, not being in the workplace and not doing what I do, it takes a lot of getting used to.”
Both the college and Ms Doran said she could not go into further detail about the allegations while the appeals process was ongoing. A week of lunchtime protests at the several college campuses followed Ms Doran’s dismissal, with unionised staff claiming she is the fourth union representative to be dismissed from the college in the last eight years.
This alleged "pattern" of sackings led some of her colleagues to claim that her dismissal is part of a broader "divide-and-rule" policy they say is exercised at the college. In the days following Ms Doran’s dismissal, the City of Liverpool College branch of the UCU tweeted: “We are all shocked to discover that @DoranNina, our branch Liaison Chair, has become just the latest in a string of dismissals of prominent @ucu reps by COLC. Nina has been dismissed for engaging in legitimate trade union activity, another clear case of trade victimisation.
“We also believe that it was strategically timed in order to disrupt a legitimate and legal industrial dispute. COLC has maintained a clear divide-and-rule over UCU for years, the current regime manufacturing a culture of fear and intimidation.”
Vicky Blake, President of the Universities and Colleges Union, said: “UCU stands in full support of Nina Doran, a hardworking rep who is now facing dismissal proceedings from her post at City of Liverpool College. Nina is a hardworking rep, who has in good faith worked tirelessly and honestly to promote and defend the interests of UCU members working at the college.
“As a union we would like to work constructively and productively with the management team at COLC, for the benefit of all staff and students. Sadly, it appears there is a lack of reciprocity from COLC management in this.
“Our reps work hard for members and have faced nothing but antagonising behaviour from this employer, the latest instance of which is represented in the dismissal proceedings against Nina Doran.”
A spokesperson for the City of Liverpool College said: “While we are unable to comment on individual cases, we are always focused on maintaining open dialogue with our trade unions to ensure the views and concerns of our valued team members are listened to and actioned where appropriate. We pride ourselves on our integrity and fairness as an employer, and as such take all of our decisions around staffing very seriously.
"As this is an ongoing matter, we are unable to make further comment at this time.”
