A teacher whose sacking led to protests last month has lost her appeal to be reinstated into her previous position at the college she worked at for 30 years.
Nina Doran, 52, was fully dismissed from her position at the City of Liverpool College in March after being suspended the previous September, with the college citing gross misconduct and a breach of confidence as the reason for her suspension and later dismissal. Protests led by her former colleagues followed her sacking, with unionised colleagues accusing the college of ' trade [union] victimisation'.
Nina since appealed to the college board against the decision to dismiss her. But last Tuesday she was informed that she had not been successful in these efforts.
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Nina joined the college in September 1991. Alongside her teaching positions, she was also a representative for the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) branch at the city college, and would liaise with the UCU’s national office to organise union workers during industrial disputes.
Speaking about her appeal loss, she said: "I'm devastated. I think I'd been hopeful because obviously it's last chance saloon for the internal processes available and because our arguments were so vast I thought that at least one would convince the employer to reconsider their disciplinary ruling.
"I was just devastated. I still haven't read the whole ruling through thoroughly because I can't bear it. I can only read parts in the morning so that I can then still sleep at night. But I just haven't got round to doing it, I've just read the beginning and the end.
"The appeal is the last chance internally, then you're on the outside and you only have the external route really."
Nina says she is now considering her next action with the consultation of union officials. She says that the UCU members at the college will be continuing in their efforts to have her reinstated.
A spokesperson for the City of Liverpool College said: "The College does not take lightly the suspension or dismissal of any employee. We take our responsibilities as an employer and particularly as an educational institution very seriously.
"Any decision taken to dismiss a member of staff is always a last resort."
In March, a week of lunchtime protests at the several college campuses followed Nina’s dismissal, with unionised staff claiming she is the fourth union representative to be dismissed from the college in the last eight years.
This alleged "pattern" of sackings led some of her colleagues to claim in March that her dismissal is part of a broader "divide-and-rule" policy they say is exercised at the college. In the days following Nina’s dismissal, the City of Liverpool College branch of the UCU tweeted: “We are all shocked to discover that @DoranNina, our branch Liaison Chair, has become just the latest in a string of dismissals of prominent @ucu reps by COLC. Nina has been dismissed for engaging in legitimate trade union activity, another clear case of trade victimisation.
“We also believe that it was strategically timed in order to disrupt a legitimate and legal industrial dispute. COLC has maintained a clear divide-and-rule over UCU for years, the current regime manufacturing a culture of fear and intimidation.”
At the time, Vicky Blake, President of the Universities and Colleges Union, said: “UCU stands in full support of Nina Doran, a hardworking rep who is now facing dismissal proceedings from her post at City of Liverpool College. Nina is a hardworking rep, who has in good faith worked tirelessly and honestly to promote and defend the interests of UCU members working at the college.
“As a union we would like to work constructively and productively with the management team at COLC, for the benefit of all staff and students. Sadly, it appears there is a lack of reciprocity from COLC management in this.
“Our reps work hard for members and have faced nothing but antagonising behaviour from this employer, the latest instance of which is represented in the dismissal proceedings against Nina Doran.”
