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CUP makes redundancy offer

01.01.70 | Philip Jones

Cambridge University Press has said that staff will receive "enhanced redundancy packages" after the recent announcement that a possible 133 jobs are under threat from a reorganisation of its printing wing. Staff will be given one to one support and advice in finding new jobs and it also hopes that a number of staff will be redeployed within the press. Workers will be given help writing CVs and given computer access.

But union Unite said that a planned rally, to be held in Cambridge on Saturday (14th February) would still go ahead despite the new redundancy terms. Ann Field, national officer at Unite, said: "At this stage we are not in discussions about terms on going, we are in discussions about people staying. What we mainly hope to achieve [at the rally] is for the university as well as the printing division manager to begin to realise the extent of the opposition and to take a fresh look."

Chief executive Stephen Bourne said: "This has been an incredibly difficult decision for all concerned, and it is not something that we have done lightly. Since April 2008 we have been looking at every other option for making our printing business more profitable, but the long-term changes in the industry, and the future forecasting we have done, have shown that our
printing department will not be viable in its current form.

"We have been in talks with staff and the union about the seriousness of the situation since April of last year and we intend to carry on working closely with them to ensure the affected staff are looked after as much as possible."

The exact number of staff to be made redundant is part of ongoing talks between staff and union representatives.

• Cambridge University Press
• CUP
• Stephen Bourne
• Victoria Gallagher