University Press staff to protest against cuts

Employees at Cambridge University Press have launched a campaign to save 170 of its staff from redundancy.

The workers, many of whom are members of the union Unite or affiliated trade unions from the district, have called for a public rally to be held this Saturday at 12pm, outside the Guildhall in Market Square.

An official press release from Cambridge University Press Jobs Campaign, sent out on Feb 10, said:

"Cambridge University and the Press this year celebrate their respective 800th and 425th anniversaries... But it is clear there will be not much celebrating by the 170 workers at the Press, from the Printing division and Education and Cambridge-Hitachi groups facing redundancy at a time when the economic outlook is worse than it has been in decades."

Cambridge University Press (CUP) is a printing and publishing house and also a charity overseen by the Press Syndicate, a body of 18 university academics. The Press employs about 2000 people worldwide, most of whom work in Cambridge.

At the end of October last year, CUP employees were warned that about 80 jobs in the Printing division might have to go. On January 21 staff received a letter announcing that 133 of 170 print jobs were to be cut, including 50% of jobs in the Education section of the Publishing department. Since then, while planned redundancies in Education have been scaled back from 50 to 18, according to Tom Woodcock, Secretary of the Cambridge and District Trades Council, "all of the 160 workers in printing are being forced to reapply for 37 jobs."

A CUP employee, whom we have agreed not to name due to ongoing circumstances at the Press, told The Cambridge Student (TCS):

"Senior Managers responsible for the sections have all been found jobs elsewhere, of course, and the people losing their jobs are generally those on the lowest rungs."

Furthermore, he said, "the print staff retained will only have a three year guarantee on their jobs (if that), and it looks like the Press wants to close down the printing business completely after that point; their plan includes ditching all of the technical staff and selling off machinery. The Press has stopped accepting new orders."

Tom Woodcock told TCS:

"Cambridge University Press is making a profit but still they are choosing to make 170 jobs redundant, practically ending 425 years of continuous printing in Cambridge. Outsourcing work away from Cambridge when it could be kept here and allow a business with a unique history and heritage to be lost forever.

"In addition they are ignoring the sacrifices that have been made by staff over the last five years that were given on the understanding that there would be job security."

He added:

"As one of the city's largest employers, we feel the Press and the University have a responsibility to the workers and the people of Cambridge to keep the printing press open and to retract the redundancies."

A CUP employee said:

"The decision on the printing side is perverse; the Press as a whole is currently operating at a profit. It has also taken on a great many staff in other sections over the last year, certainly over 100. The weak pound currently makes it harder for non-UK printers to compete, and now would be a good time to make up for the lack of investment which the printing business has suffered from."

As a result of the planned redundancies, the Printing section, with the backing of the Trades Council, has called for a public rally to be held in the town centre.

The employee said that the protest would "shame the University into exerting some influence on the Press, and a good showing will build confidence for concerted industrial action, if it comes down to that."

In the official campaign press release, supporters are urged to contact local councillors and MPs as well as members of the University to speak out against the job losses and join the protest on Saturday.

There is also an online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/160jobs/ and the campaign has a website at http://www.savepressjobs.blogspot.com. The Facebook group, 'save the jobs at Cambridge University Press', currently has over 500 members. Posting on the group's wall, Philip Parfitt, whose network is listed as 'Cambridge University Press' commented:

"You don't need to work here, just come along and join us to show your support. CUP is (or was) the oldest printer in the world and should remain so, don't let history slip away under a smoke screen of economic doom, gloom and recession."

He added:

"Some things are more important than money and balance sheets. It's not just our jobs, it's history and heritage at stake here, something the accountants will not be able to buy back once it's gone. Come join us at the Guild Hall on the 14th and help to save a part of Cambridge history."

Carly Hilts Co-Editor in Chief