Peter Lazenby
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COLLEGE lecturers’ leaders warned today that they will call the biggest-ever strike ballot in further education if employers do not come up with a satisfactory wage offer by September.
The University and College Union (UCU) is planning to ballot staff at 88 colleges in England where it is in dispute over pay and working conditions.
The warning followed Education Secretary Gillian Keegan announcing an extra allocation of £185 million to colleges for 2023-24 and £285m for 2024-25, equivalent to the 6.5 per cent pay increase proposed by the government for teachers following a recommendation from their pay review body.
But UCU wants a “fair” pay rise to help staff cope with the cost-of-living crisis, along with an agreement on lecturers’ workloads and binding national pay negotiations.
The union is waiting for a response from employers’ body the Association of Colleges.
UCU says that college staff work an average of two days without pay every week, while salaries have fallen 35 per cent behind the retail prices index rate of inflation over the past 12 years.
General secretary Jo Grady said: “We are putting college employers on notice.
“Now that they have received this welcome funding increase from government, they need to come back to the table with a realistic pay offer.
“Any that refuses to do so will be part of England’s biggest-ever strike ballot come September.
“Pay is too low and workloads are too high. Our members now need a new settlement and it must include binding national negotiations in English further education that deal with these issues.”
