THIS WEEK IN 1988: Sackings of Students' Union bar staff were '˜irresponsible'

A union called for the intervention of the arbitration service ACAS in a bid to settle a bitter dispute at Portsmouth Polytechnic Students' Union.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th May 2018, 07:00 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 08:28 BST
jpns 190518 retro Lockout - Catering assistant and NUPE shop steward Rachel Moseley locked out of Alexandra House, Portsmouthjpns 190518 retro Lockout - Catering assistant and NUPE shop steward Rachel Moseley locked out of Alexandra House, Portsmouth
jpns 190518 retro Lockout - Catering assistant and NUPE shop steward Rachel Moseley locked out of Alexandra House, Portsmouth

The dispute – which took a new twist with the closure on police advice of Alexandra House, the Students’ Union building at Museum Road until further notice – had been raging since seven bar staff were sacked over the alleged theft of more than £10,000.

Students’ Union officials claimed £10,570.27 taken and recorded on the Alexandra House bar tills had not been banked and said they decided to sack all full-time bar staff because it was impossible to operate when one of the workers could have been guilty of gross misconduct.

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Police confirmed they were investigating the disappearance of a large sum of money.

The union, NUPE, which mounted a picket outside Alexandra House, confirmed the sackings and the exclusion from the building of casual bar workers.

It said the Students’ Union executive acted irresponsibly because it failed to follow proper disciplinary procedures.

NUPE said the staff should have been reinstated pending the outcome of the police investigation.