PLANNED strikes at Mid Cheshire College due to job cuts will not go ahead following crunch talks.

A strike was scheduled for Tuesday, June 29, at Mid Cheshire College’s Hartford and Winsford campus’.

However this has now been suspended after a resolution was reached between the University and College Union (UCU) and the college today.

Staff were due to walk out if the eleventh hour talks, brokered by the conciliation service ACAS, could not break the stalemate over compulsory job losses.

The college has now said it will not issue any compulsory redundancy notices before September.

UCU regional official, Martyn Moss, said: “We are pleased today’s talks were positive and thank ACAS for hosting them.

“We had been trying to resolve the issue through talks and now will continue to explore all avenues with the college to avoid the need for compulsory redundancies.”

Both sides said they recognised the significant funding cuts faced by colleges and have agreed to continue to explore all avenues to avoid any compulsory job losses.

In a ballot of UCU members earlier this month, 74 per cent of members who voted backed strike action.