瓜神网 condemns shameful employment practices at Coventry University's subsidiary company

The allegations come in a letter from 瓜神网 which has written to Coventry University condemning the actions of its subsidiary company CU Services Ltd.

The union said the company's actions in sacking staff and planning to re-engage them as agency workers just weeks after they had voted unanimously for union recognition were reminiscent of allegations made about Sports Direct and had no place in the higher education sector.

As Coventry University owns a series of companies that it uses to employ its staff. These companies have refused to recognise 瓜神网 to represent their staff.

Earlier this month staff at CU Services Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the university, won their long-running battle for union recognition, voting by 100% on a 73% turnout, to have 瓜神网 represent them. These staff teach English to international students who go on to study at Coventry University.

Now, just a few weeks after 瓜神网 secured recognition, CU Services Ltd has announced that it is 'reviewing its business model' and sacking many of its staff. These staff have been told that if they want to continue doing the same work, they will have to register as agency workers with a company called thefutureworks - a trading name of Coventry University Enterprises Ltd, also wholly owned by Coventry University.

Coventry University has insisted that its subsidiary companies are autonomous and make their own decisions. However, the companies have only one shareholder, which is Coventry University, while their directors include senior university officers and members of Coventry University's board of governors. Until October last year, vice-chancellor John Latham sat on the board of CU Services Ltd.

瓜神网 is calling on CU Services Ltd to immediately reverse this decision and for the university to engage constructively with 瓜神网 to negotiate recognition at all its education subsidiary companies.

瓜神网 general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'It is extraordinary that at a time when companies like Sports Direct are being forced to review their employment practices, we see the university of the year using tactics like this to deny hard-working and vulnerable staff their union voice and diminish their employment rights. This is a shameful episode and the actions of Coventry University's subsidiary company are an embarrassment to the sector.

'CU Services Ltd must immediately reverse its decision and Coventry University needs to stop hiding behind the so-called autonomy of its companies and start to constructively engage with 瓜神网 at all its education subsidiaries. Students and the wider public who contribute so much to our universities deserve to know what is happening to the hard-working staff who teach them.

For our part, 瓜神网 will continue its fight to ensure that everyone teaching at Coventry University and its subsidiaries has the same right to union recognition.'