One of Scotland’s leading training centres for union reps is at risk as a Glasgow college chases “every option” for closing a budget deficit.
City of Glasgow College operates the TUC Education Centre (TUC EC) in partnership with the Trade Union Congress, but the college has said that financial pressures and a dwindling demand for courses on site has cast doubt on whether a new contract will be signed.
Following a recent meeting between the TUC and City of Glasgow College, staff at the TUC EC were informed last week that the college was opening a consultation to determine whether to extend the partnership.
The current contract expires at the end of June.
The TUC EC provides training for union representatives and members from across Scotland, offering a variety of diploma courses, short courses and trainings, and online courses. A college spokesperson said that the decision is partly based on finances – with the college projecting a £2 million deficit for 2024/25 – and partly due to a decline in demand for courses.
“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.
“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.”
A source close to the college said that when City of Glasgow began operating the TUC EC roughly seven years ago, there were 14 staff. That number is now down to five.
And recent projections estimated that the college would collect approximately £200,000 in gross revenue from TUC EC courses in 2024/25, compared to £400,000 this year.
Representatives from lecturers’ union EIS-FELA have countered the college’s reasoning, saying that the centre provides important training for union representatives nationwide and across a variety of industries.
The loss of the TUC EC as a resource could impact industrial relations at a time when there are ongoing negotiations in many sectors.
In terms of the college sector, EIS-FELA and support staff unions have been in dispute with college employers for the better part of a decade. EIS-FELA is in the middle of a series of national and local industrial actions, including at City of Glasgow College.
Read more:
Heat pumps: Myths, truths and costs – find all articles here
Home buyers not 'ready to pay this premium' for heat pumps
With staff now subject to severance as one possible outcome of the consultation, a spokesperson for EIS-FELA said that any cuts to the TUC EC could disrupt union activity and apply pressure to ongoing negotiations.
“City of Glasgow College Trade Union Education Centre is of national significance due to its role in the trade union movement in Scotland.
“There are only two centres delivering accredited TUC training in Scotland, one at Fife college and the other at City of Glasgow College.
“Fife College does not have the capacity to deliver training for all of Scotland and therefore the closure of the City of Glasgow College centre is a national issue for the trade union movement in Scotland.
“The five Trade Union Education lecturing staff are to be targeted for ‘voluntary severance’ which amounts to making staff compulsory redundant.
“On a local level, the Trade Union Education staff now face the battle to save the Trade Union Education Centre and keep their jobs amid yet another phase of cuts and redundancies in the college.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel