Job fears: Student Loans Company
There has been an angry reaction to the threat to cut almost 200 jobs at the Glasgow-based Student Loans Company.
The company announced that it plans to make 150 posts redundant and transfer 45 jobs at the their Hillington office to the north east of England.
The company has two locations in the west of Scotland, its head office in Glasgow employs over 1200 and a printing and mailing centre employs around 100.
The Public and Commercial Service union (PCS), which represents staff at the company, says it intends to campaign against the threatened cuts, and is holding meetings for its members to urge them to get involved. They will also call on MPs, MSPs and Glasgow City Councillors to back their campaign.
Colin Young, secretary of the PCS said: “This announcement is a body blow to the hard working staff in the Student Loans Company and to the city of Glasgow that can ill afford to lose well paid highly skilled jobs.
“It is an extra kick in the teeth when you realise that 45 of these jobs are being transferred from Glasgow to England at no savings to the taxpayer.”
Lynn Henderson, PCS Scottish secretary said “Threatening 200 Glasgow staff with the dole is no way to reward the efforts they made to help the Student Loans Company through its difficulties last autumn.
“The Student Loans Company should be properly funded to deliver the service students need. And we will press on politicians of all parties that losing highly skilled jobs from Glasgow can cause major damage to the economy of the West of Scotland. Cutting the company’s budget is a false economy”
Ralph Seymour Jackson, the chief executive of the Student Loans Company said: “We are sorry that we have to make 150 posts redundant.
“I want to reassure our customers that these changes will not affect front line staff and we will continue to make the improvements needed to deliver a better quality of service to them in the future.
“We are now entering a period of consultation, working closely with staff and the trade union body PCS but we anticipate that the majority of the redundancies will be through voluntary means."
The Student Loans Company, which was established in 1990, deals with the loans and grants for eligible university undergraduates, pays tuition fees to universities and colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and collects payment for student loans.
