STRIKING staff at Abingdon and Witney College will be on picket lines outside both the Abingdon and Witney campuses from 8am on Tuesday and Wednesday next week (29 and 30 January) days. The dispute centres on the failure of colleges to make a decent pay offer to staff who have seen their pay decline by 25% in the past decade.
In the recent ballot at Abingdon and Witney College, over two-thirds (71%) of UCU members who voted backed strike action. UCU members at 16 English colleges will be walking out next week as part of a second wave of strikes after staff at six colleges took action in November.
In order to maximise the impact of their action, Leicester College UCU members will be taking action on Tuesday 29 and Thursday 31 January and members at Kendal College will be taking action on 29 January and 12 February.
Meanwhile, commenting on the raising of the cap on fees for two-year degrees to £11,100 a year in England, the UCU said the government needed to fix a system that piled debts on students. The union also said that the move was more about allowing for-profit companies access to public money than increasing choice for students.
