UNISON is backing a campaign to save the trade union studies unit at Stoke on Trent College in Staffordshire.
And as part of the campaign, the union’s Stoke branch is urging members and supporters to sign an online petition in support of the campaign, which has already been signed by almost 500 people.
Read and sign the petition here
The proposed closure forms part of the college’s reaction to a cut of £2.5m in its adult education funding.
Across the college, up to 117 workers – including 90 support staff – could be threatened with redundancy because of the cut, which will also affect around 12,000 adult learners taking a wide variety of education and training courses.
Campaigners say the plans to close the trade union studies unit are particularly short sighted.
The unit has been training union reps for more than 35 years.
Unions say that this has benefited industry in North Staffordshire by helping create “fairer and more productive workplaces”.
UNISON and college teaching union UCU launched a campaign to save the unit in April had are due to meet the college principal Sarah Robinson next week, to push the argument for keeping trade union studies at the college.