Staff at 33 colleges to strike in January over pay and conditions dispute

Staff at 33 colleges in England are due to strike for three days in January after members of the University and College Union (UCU) voted to take industrial action over pay and working conditions.

The union said stoppages are set for 14, 15 and 16 January, at the start of the spring term, unless employers return to talks with an improved pay offer. The ballot recorded a 91% vote for action on a 60% turnout across the affected colleges.

A further 17 colleges that were balloted will not take part in the walkout after members accepted settlements that delivered pay rises of up to 8.7%.

The union is campaigning, alongside the National Education Union, GMB, UNISON and Unite, for a “New Deal for FE” covering pay parity with school staff, national workload rules and a binding national bargaining structure.

The Association of Colleges, which represents employers, has recommended a 4% pay rise for the current round. Colleges are not required to follow the recommendation and have often chosen not to do so. The union said average pay for college teachers is about £9,000 below that of schoolteachers.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “College bosses are now on notice, if they refuse to come back to the negotiating table and make staff fair offers that help close the pay gap between school and college teachers then, come January, there will be huge disruption on campuses across England.

“Our demands are reasonable, and the 33 colleges facing action need to look at the 17 that worked to settle our disputes if they want to avoid action. It is also now high time employers worked with us to secure meaningful sectoral bargaining so we can end this disruptive year-on-year cycle of strike ballots and action.’”