Peter Lazenby
This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
COLLEGE education in England is under threat because 70 per cent of lecturers are ready to quit over financial hardship, job insecurity and shocking working conditions.
A damning report by the University and College Union (UCU), released today, said that a combination of low pay and the cost-of-living crisis was even forcing some workers to ration the hot water they use and skip meals.
More than 80 per cent who took part in a union survey said that they face mental health problems caused by worrying about their finances – while college heads draw fat salaries and benefits.
The union said its report On the breadline: The cost of living for England’s college workers revealed “a workforce in financial crisis, plagued by job insecurity and poor working conditions.”
UCU is currently balloting over 30 colleges across England over low pay and warned that it may extend strike ballots into more colleges if employers refuse to act.
The union said that as government ministers responsible for education and levelling up quit government, any remaining ambitions to “level up” and “supercharge” further education will be “undeliverable” if low pay forces staff to quit in the numbers threatened.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “As the government falls apart, the college staff responsible for delivering what remains of its levelling up agenda are saying they cannot afford to stay in further education.
“With seven in 10 pledging to leave their jobs if pay and working conditions continue to be eroded it is clear that the future of the entire sector is under threat.”
She said that the report should “shock employers into action.”
