'No compulsory College redundancies' – MLAs' plea

In a joint statement, Sinn Fin's Raymond McCartney and the SDLP's Pat Ramsay and Pl Callaghan also revealed that they will be seeking talks with both the Further Education Minister and the College's Board of Governors.

"We are aware that a large number of teaching staff at the College have recently received letters warning them of the prospect of redundancies at the campus by next summer," the statement read.

"We would obviously be very concerned at any redundancies, both in terms of the impact on the staff themselves and the service to students. We will be seeking meetings with the Minister and the College's Board of Governors to discuss this situation.

"All possible steps should be taken to avoid compulsory redundancies and if savings need to be made then the College management should ensure that every possible alternative is exhausted before any member of staff is made redundant.

"The College is a vital resource for the entire North West, not only in terms of up-skilling our young people but also within the community outreach work which it is involved in.

"It is in the wider North West interest that services at the College are protected and developed so that we can build our local economy."