College faces criticism over agency worker spending

The trade union Unison last week claimed a freedom of information request had revealed City College Birmingham spent £2.8m on agency staff in 2008, the same year it cut 46 support staff and 30 lecturers.

Chris Fabby, Unison's national further education officer, said: "City College Birmingham wasted nearly £3m on agency staff last year. Recruitment agency owners in Birmingham routinely charge more than 50 per cent on top of what they pay their staff. It would be a disgrace if staff and students were left to pay the price with job losses and a lower quality educational service."

Unison also claimed the college had failed to give staff pay rises last year in line with a 3.2 per cent increase recommended by the Association of Colleges, the national employers body for further education staff.

But the college's principal David Gibson said that the college had only spent £1m on agency support staff, representing only five per cent of the payroll.

He said the job losses were a result of voluntary severances and that staff had been given pay increases in line with agreed rates.

He said: "The college is running on a deficit. If we don't get it on to a level footing through voluntary severances we would be broke and let down the remaining staff."