Rennie: Dundee University needs a ministerial taskforce 

Commenting on the government action to protect jobs at the University of Dundee, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said:

“We need a ministerial taskforce to save the jobs at the University of Dundee.

“The proposed cuts would deliver a seismic shock to households across Tayside and Fife. In previous situations where mass job losses were on the cards like Michelin and BiFab a government-convened taskforce helped to ensure that every avenue was explored to secure jobs and retraining.

“So far there does not seen to have been anything of this magnitude proposed for the university.

“A ministerial taskforce needs pulled together rapidly to protect as many jobs as possible and ensure that anyone who is made redundant is provided with opportunities to get their lives back on track.

“There also needs to more thought given to the long term future of the sector. Yes, there have clearly been management errors at Dundee but what has been missing from the Scottish Government response is an acknowledgement that the funding model that underpins Scottish universities is hollow. It cannot cope with geopolitical upheaval and rapidly rising costs. A crisis was simply a matter of when, not if.

“I would urge the Scottish Government to pull together cross-party talks on the future of the wider university sector. So far the SNP have been reluctant to include other parties in this discussion. I think that is a mistake if a sustainable model is to be secured.”