A Paisley nursery will close in June despite months of campaigning by staff and parents.
Bosses at Unison have said they are “appalled” at the decision by West College Scotland to shut the campus nursery in three-months time, branding it a “dark day” for the college.
The college has said the reason for the decision is as the facilities are “not central to its statutory obligation to provide further and higher education and learning”.
Thirteen staff are set to be impacted by the closure, however West College Scotland has said no staff will be forced to take redundancy.
Unison has registered its anger and bitter disappointment the decision after a long campaign to save the facility in which saw them carry out demonstrations, petition campaigns, political lobbying and constant representations through a heavily contested collective consultation process.
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Union bosses say staff and their representatives presented serious and viable counter-proposals but college bosses still made the decision to end the services following the end of the summer term.
Lorcan Mullen, UNISON regional organiser said: “UNISON Scotland is appalled that West College management have confirmed the closure of the nurseries in Greenock and Paisley.
“After a passionate, hard-fought campaign, and after staff had presented serious and viable counter-proposals, Liz Connolly and her team have refused to change course.
“Two high quality, much-loved nurseries will be lost from Greenock and Paisley, and after a combined 178 years of service to the college and its predecessors, the dedicated staff will be stopped from doing the job they love.
"The affected children will face significant disruption, some affected parents will leave further education, and many others in future will feel unable to access learning in the absence of on-site childcare.
“It is a bleak situation, a dark day for the college, and it is needless when alternatives were and are open to senior management.”
The initial decision to close was taken before Christmas, with unions claiming no meaningful consultation had taken place with staff, therefore making the decision to close discriminatory.
However, the college says it is working with the nursery to minimise disruption and ensure a “smooth transition” to a nursery or school.
Liz Connolly, principal and chief executive of West College Scotland said: “We understand just how difficult the decision not to re-open our nurseries after the summer break will be for those valued colleagues and service users affected.
“The decision to close the two facilities has not been taken lightly but in these challenging times the College can no longer accommodate the recurring losses as it looks to secure longer-term financial sustainability, job security and deliver its commitment to providing high quality further and higher education and learning.
“Alternative proposals to closure, including those put forward by colleagues directly affected by the decision, were fully evaluated but with regret even the most optimistic outcome was unviable.”
Natalie Smith, director of organisational development and HR at West College Scotland added: “The closure of the College’s nurseries will not result in any compulsory redundancies.
"For those team members who wish to stay with the College we will work with them to ensure that they are redeployed into roles that are suitable for their skills and experience.
“For those who would prefer not to remain with the College, there is a voluntary severance scheme which the impacted staff can access.”
West College Scotland remains fully committed to providing the best in education, learning and training to the communities it serves and will continue to ensure that students have the best possible learning environments.”
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