8:15am Friday 18th January 2008
By Rebecca Lowe
Staff and students at Barnet College may have to work over half-term because of overdue building work at its temporary North London Business Park (NLBP) site.
Over the past four months, a building at the business park in New Southgate has been converted into a temporary classrooms. It was originally meant to be finished five weeks ago, but was delayed due to problems accessing the building and removing dangerous asbesto and legionella in the basement and water supply.
A source who did not want to be named said that students had been told of the half-term plan at an induction meeting on Monday, but that staff were yet to be informed.
He said: "A person in a management position told the students that the college would be teaching through half-term, but no-one told the staff. It is a very unsatisfactory way of carrying out industrial relations. Some will have booked their holidays during this time."
Barnet College did not confirm or deny the rumours. A spokeswoman said: "Barnet College is looking forward to having some excellent interim space for its learners in a newly refurbished building at the NLBP. We really appreciate the effort our staff have made to prepare for an excellent environment."
But Roger Enskat, a relative of a member of staff, said that teachers have been frustrated by the unfinished condition of the new classrooms, which meant they had to don hard hats and protective clothing in certain areas to prepare for the start of lessons on Thursday, January 17. Students were originally due to return on Monday, January 14.
He said: "I think they are all feeling very harassed. They want to feel prepared for the students, but they are faced with these conditions.
"The overall picture that my relative has given me is that the whole move has not been adequately organised or scheduled, and staff are trying to get in and set up for a new term without being able to. They weren't fully appraised of the problems."
The source claimed that the college had employed an "unrealistic timeframe", which had led to the delays. But John Silk, director of interiors for Apex Contractors, who were hired to carry out the construction, said that this was "absolutely not true".
He said: "The bottom line is that the college had problems getting the building from the owners, which was completely out of their hands. Then, after health and safety checks, we found asbestos in the basement and legionella in the water tanks.
"The client is in no way to blame. In fact, though the work was delayed by five weeks, the handover has only been put back by a few days."
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