'Catastrophic failures' at HSDC lead to mass strikes as staff fight for future of college and resist job cuts amid serious financial deficit

Staff members from the college’s South Downs, Havant and Alton campuses have participated in the first of three strikes today (June 13) as they call for better financial management and oppose ‘substantial redundancies’ of approximately 100 people.

The University and College Union and the National Education Union have joined forces to establish the strikes with the UCU saying ‘catastrophic failures’ have led to the college’s financial ‘crisis’.

Michelle Seymour, HSDC University and College Union branch secretary, said: “What’s happening at HSDC is nothing short of a tragedy.

“Staff who have given decades of their lives to this college, people who have worked tirelessly for their students through all the challenges of recent years, are now facing redundancy because of catastrophic failures at the top.”

The college has been facing financial concerns for a considerable amount of time with its most recent statements showing a deficit of £548,000 for the 2023/24 financial year.

The financial statement also highlighted prepared forecasts which outline that ‘if cost savings of at least £2m are achieved by 2025/26’ there will be ‘sufficient funds’ to operate and pay liabilities up to July 31, 2026.

However, unions say a health check report from the Further Education Commissioner, published in February, identified that the financial pressures were so extreme the college was in danger of running out of cash this year.

In turn, this would mean there will be insufficient funds to cover the redundancy payments the college is proposing, which will cost in excess £1 million.

The unions claim the college intends to borrow part of next year’s funding from the Department for Education to meet these redundancy costs and other pressing commitments.

Ms Seymour added: “This years sudden departures firstly with the finance director - then the deputy principal in April with a weeks notice, and now the CEO, 10 days after tons of teaching staff got individual notifications they were ‘at risk’ of redundancy, announces his retirement — speak volumes about the lack of integrity and accountability at the top.

“Behind every redundancy proposal is a dedicated member of staff whose life is being turned upside down.

“This strike is not just about resisting cuts. It’s about defending the future of our college and demanding that those who caused this crisis are finally held to account.”

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Moray McAulay, from the UCU, attended one of the picket lines today and said the reason for the ongoing industrial action is due to the ‘failure of the leadership at the college’.

He added: “This college is facing a financial crisis. This is not the same across the further education sector so we are taking strike action to protest against the redundancies and to say we want stable and responsible leadership for our members and these students don’t face these cuts again.”

HSDC previously released a statement regarding the strike action saying it is ‘disappointed that planned action coincides with exams and taster sessions, potentially disrupting students at a key stage in their education’.

The statement continued: “We remain committed to minimising this impact, ensuring exam support and providing alternative arrangements for affected students.

“The proposals affect around 70 full-time equivalent roles (approximately 100 individuals), representing 12.5 per cent of our workforce. Our extended consultation process with local trade unions has resulted in most staffing reductions occurring voluntarily, with only about 30 FTE roles still under review.”