Annual General Meeting 2003 Details

UNISON Angus Council Branch

the public service union in Angus

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Angus College staff protest against funding cuts

Angus College staff have taken part in a day of action against cuts to funding.

Social science student Louise Martin with son Brendan Taylor (4) and other protesters making their point in Arbroath.

The protest, organised by UNISON, was brought together to push the trade union's message of ‘no funding-no future.'

Members of the Angus branch joined those at colleges throughout Scotland on Wednesday to raise public awareness of the extent of cuts to further education.

Colleges across the country face a 10.4% cut in their financing from the Scottish Funding Council, with many in the sector fearing a devastating impact on staff, students and communities.

UNISON claim the move will lead to a loss of courses, staff and educational opportunities for students.

Dougie Deans, UNISON steward of the Angus College branch, said, "The government must rethink its savage cuts or thousands of Scotland's students will be left facing a bleak future."

Karen Dawson, chair of UNISON's further education committee, added, "These cuts will have a devastating impact on both colleges and communities and these are just the tip of the iceberg.

"This day of action is to raise public awareness that these cuts will not only destroy our colleges, it will steal the future of an entire generation of students."

Reductions in staffing and courses are set to hit all over Scotland as further education providers struggle to deal with their incomes being cut for 2011-12.

The Scottish Funding Council has a £1.5 billion budget for the academic year, which begins in August, comprising £956 million for universities and £528m for colleges — more than 8% down on the spending provided this financial year.

University teaching budgets have also been slashed by 10.9%, and funding for research is down by 0.6%.

Capital funding for building and maintenance programmes for both sectors will fall by 38%.

This month representatives from NUS Scotland were at Angus College to urge students to sign up for a national demonstration.

The organisation held a protest in Edinburgh last week to call for politicians not to bring in tuition fees, protect graduate numbers and college places and improve student support.