Crewe & Nantwich MP Laura Smith MP has called on Manchester Metropolitan University to halt redundancies amid plans to close the Crewe campus.
Ms Smith, from Stapeley, is a former MMU students where she studied before working as a teacher at Brine Leas.
Now, after winning back Crewe & Nantwich seat for Labour on June 8, she is called for university bosses to hold further talks with trade unions.
UCU members at the university walked out on strike today (June 20), and are set to walk out again tomorrow, in the row over potential job losses at MMU.
Ms Smith said: “I send my support and solidarity to striking staff at MMU.
“I know they would not have taken this decision lightly.
“As the Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich, I am especially concerned about the fate of the 160 academic staff who are currently in limbo.
“I urge management to hold off with the proposed redundancies and engage in a meaningful discussion with trade union representatives to explore all viable alternatives.
“As a former MMU student who graduated with a degree from the Crewe campus, I know how important it is for many prospective students to be able to access higher education closer to home.
“It concerns me that the decision by MMU management to close the campus could remove this opportunity from prospective students in my constituency, create uncertainty for existing students, and have a negative effect on the local economy.”
The row centres on job losses arising from the closure of the university’s Crewe campus and the fate of the 160 academic staff based there.
UCU says strike action is a last resort.
It claims the university has rejected a request to postpone redundancies planned for the summer, snubbed an offer of further talks and turned down an offer to involve the specialist conciliation service ACAS to try and resolve the dispute.
In a previous statement in May, a spokesman for Manchester Metropolitan University said: “The decision to close the university’s campus in Crewe was taken with regret, but is the sensible option to take to protect the future sustainability of the university as a whole.
“Through discussions with the UCU and the other recognised staff unions, a range of mitigating factors have been put in place to try to minimise compulsory redundancies.
“However, we have been open and honest throughout the process in saying that job losses are unavoidable.
“We will put plans in place to minimise the impact of any industrial action and ensure our students continue to get the best possible academic experience.”
The university confirmed on February 10 that the Crewe campus will close in August 2019 after students currently enrolled on courses there have finished their studies.
Typical Labour she ignores constituents letters and just follows her own adgenda of money money money for workers.
You obviously cannot see the wider picture Andrew….we have already lost Bombardier, the Town centre is becoming a ghost town… selfinterest groups and individuals have torn the town apart…and if we are to lose the university as well, without a fight or protest and without a replacement plan then we will all be, once again worse off. We should take heart, courage and inspiration from the Germans running Bentley, investing in their product, investing in their skills investing in their community….and having to fight tooth and nail to drag us all forward into the light.