Two politicians have hit out at the University of the West of Scotland’s (UWS) decision not to furlough 16 students working in their café.
Labour MSP Neil Bibby has written to Education Secretary John Swinney on behalf of student workers in a café and coffee shop.
Green MSP Ross Greer has proposed a motion to Parliament calling on UWS to reverse the decision.
Mr Bibby has also raised the issue directly with the principal of the university and said there is a ‘moral duty’ to help the students, who are now struggling to pay their household bills.
The workers are on zero hour contracts meaning that they have no income while the café remains closed.
Students do not qualify for Universal Credit and the politicians think UWS should furlough the workers immediately. In doing so they would receive 80% of their average monthly wages through the Government’s Job Retention Scheme.
The Department for Work and Pensions had advised the students to request that the university furlough them.
The staff members stopped working when campuses closed in March and have been told by the university they are not eligible for coronavirus job retention scheme.
Neil Bibby, Labour MSP for the west of Scotland, said: “Universities in receipt of public funds have a moral duty to support students they employ.
“For a university with an income like UWS, the sums required to support staff on zero-hour contracts is minimal, but the benefit to those students is huge.
“If UWS is not eligible to access government support schemes, then it should do the honourable thing and assume responsibility for the only group of its staff who will suffer financially during this unprecedented crisis.
“I have written to John Swinney in the hope that he can help persuade the university to change its policy.”
Ross Greer, Green MSP for the West of Scotland told Renfrewshire News: “This is a shocking way to treat a group of workers who rely on their income from the café to support themselves.
“UWS had an easy way to use Government support to help their staff at no cost to themselves, but they’ve inexplicably refused to do so.”
“While UWS claim there are hardship funds available, they are not comparable to the 80% salary cover through the furlough scheme. These workers should be able to receive the support they’re automatically entitled to, not be forced to go through the extra stress of applying for a fund where there’s no guarantee they’ll get what they need.”
A University of the West of Scotland spokesperson said: “We have extensively reviewed, and sought advice on, the national guidance regarding furlough. It is clear that where employers receive public funding for staff costs then employers are not expected to furlough their staff. We appreciate, however, that the situation remains fast-moving and dynamic and we continue to monitor developments and guidance closely in liaison our Trade Unions, with whom we are holding twice-weekly meetings.
“We are absolutely not, however, leaving this group – or any other group of students not employed by UWS, whose part time work has been affected by the current crisis – without financial support. We have been encouraging students to access our student hardship funds which have already administered support to hundreds of students over the past few weeks. The vast majority of these funds have been provided to those who have temporarily lost part-time income.
“Like a number of local authorities who are also in receipt of public funds, we are identifying alternate employment opportunities within the University. We have also reached out to community partners and businesses to see where any temporary opportunities for employment of students might be available. To support the potential for this, we have also offered UWS HR assistance to these organisations for any associated recruitment processes.”