UCU members at 32 colleges back strike action in England-wide ballot

The University and College Union (UCU) has called on college bosses to start negotiating as college staff at 32 institutions have voted to strike after backing industrial action over pay and working conditions.Around 90% of participating staff supported strikes in a ballot held across England. Ballots were conducted locally, and the union said each of the 32 colleges passed the statutory 50% turnout threshold required for action.

A further 17 colleges have reached settlements after staff accepted pay rises worth up to 8.7%.

The union’s further education committee is due to meet on 21 November to decide its next steps.

The UCU and other unions, including the National Education Union, GMB, UNISON and Unite, are calling for a New Deal for further education. The proposal seeks pay parity with schoolteachers, national workload agreements and a binding national bargaining system.

The Association of Colleges has recommended a 4% pay increase, although individual colleges are not obliged to apply it. The UCU said the average college teacher earns £9,000 less than a schoolteacher.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “College staff have turned out in huge numbers to show they are willing to down tools in the fight for decent pay and decent working conditions. Thanks to the pressure of our strike ballots we have also won pay deals at a further 17 colleges. 

“Other college bosses now need to look to those institutions, make staff fair offers that help close the pay gap between school and college teachers, and avoid the disruption of strike action.”

She added: “We are also calling on employers to agree to meaningful sectoral bargaining so further education can avoid the cycle of strike ballots and disruption that we have seen over the past few years.”