FURIOUS lecturers fighting the introduction of an employment agency at a troubled college vowed to step up their campaign at a second mass meeting.

Part-time lecturers at Accrington and Rossendale College believe the introduction of the ELS agency will badly affect their rights and lead to a fall in wages.

And all union members at the college are set to take a vote this Friday on whether to take strike action. The union says about 70 to 80 part-time staff decided to become members at the latest meeting yesterday.

The row started when 340 part-time staff were sent redundancy notices and told to sign up with ELS if they wanted to work at the college. Although NATFHE officials are now urging their members to join the agency, they are still determined to fight the changes all the way.

The union hopes to win support from the local community and is in the process of organising public meetings in Accrington and Rawtenstall for later this month.

Politicians and community leaders will be invited to speak at both rallies. And in a further move NATFHE officials are looking at taking the college to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal.

A spokesperson for NATFHE said: "The way the college has handled this whole affair has been appalling.

"It is our understanding that some of our members could be entitled to £30,000 for unfair dismissal and the final bill could be somewhwere in the region of £3 to £4 million."

The spokesperson added: "The situation needs sorting out urgently because college is due to restart in September.

"We are still hoping that the people who run the college will sit down and try to resolve the situation.

"We are sick of the bully-boy tactics from management."

College principal Mike Austin hit back at the criticism.

He said: "As far as we are concerned this is a non-issue which NATFHE is attempting to keep aloft with falsehoods.

"The union is in a habit of saying things which are not true.

"It is extremely irresponsible of NATFHE to give advice to lecturers which is not in their best interests.

"The college would not have got involved with ELS without taking legal advice first and as far as we are concerned we can foresee no problems.

He added: "I have been told that at the latest meeting NATFHE advised its members to join ELS but at the same time pledged to continue its opposition to the agency.

"That in itself seems a rather bizarre position to take."

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