A NEW support group for workers facing potential redundancy at an international language school is calling on the firm’s staff to bargain collectively worldwide.

Swedish company Education First (EF) has furloughed the majority of its staff in Britain and Ireland.

However, multiple sources have told the Star that admin staff and zero-hours teachers are no longer working at all, leaving only core contract teachers still teaching online.

The EF Redundancy Support Group, which formed earlier this month, aims to ensure that all EF employees have access to the support and information they need as the redundancy consultations begin.

“We want to make sure that EF doesn't take the cost of this crisis out on us,” a member of the group said.

“It's our labour that made EF the successful, profitable company that it is.

“It has the money to keep people employed and to offer generous redundancy packages.”

The group is calling on all EF staff at the company's schools across the world to join their Facebook page in order to communicate and co-ordinate a response to the consultation.

“We think it's important the EF staff put across unified demands in regards to potential redundancies. The statutory minimum isn't good enough.

“As the consultation progresses, we'll include updates on how negotiations are proceeding at each school. Being united means having a shared strategy and having our own channels of communication.”

The TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Workers' Union, which backs the EF Redundancy Support Group, says it is determined to fight for its members' rights.

"EF is one of the biggest and possibly the richest language school chain in the world.

“The wealth of founder Bertil Hult is estimated at 6 billion US dollars,” a TEFL Workers' Union spokesperson said.

“This is a company that can afford to keep staff and offer an extremely generous redundancy package. The TEFL Workers' Union is here to hold them to account.”