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Open University rally ban as 100s of jobs put under threat

OPEN UNIVERSITY bosses have banned a rally by staff wanting to lobby against hundreds of job losses and closures.

The Open University (OU) senate meets at its Milton Keynes headquarters today at 2pm to discuss proposals to axe 502 staff and close regional centres at Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Gateshead, Leeds, London and Oxford.

The University and College Union, representing thousands of OU staff, wanted to lobby senate members and stage a rally. But OU bosses say the lobby must involve only 10 people at a time.

UCU OU branch president Pauline Collins said the decision was “quite bizarre.”

“We wanted to be able to draw attention to what was happening and make sure we put our side across to members of the senate before their meeting,” she said.

She said the cuts plans would be “catastrophic.”

The protest starts at 1pm.

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