STRIKING Capital City College Group (CCCG) lecturers rallied outside the CEO’s office in Victoria yesterday on the second day of their eight-day strike.
The strikers chanted: ‘What do we want, fair pay, what do we want, less hours, when do we want it, now.’
CCCG is the biggest college group in London and several hundred members of the UCU lecturers union, at CONEL (College of North East London), City and Islington and Westminster Kingsway colleges are striking this week and next.
Addressing the 100-strong rally, Alison James, from Westminster Kingsway, said: ‘We’re here for pay and workload. The management refuse to understand the staff. There is greater teacher sickness, there are up to 30 students in classes, management don’t understand. Their pay offer of 6.5% is not backdated and it’s a pay cut.’
Also from Westminster Kingsway, Regina Pelling said: ‘Management are desperate for new students but they do not fund it. They increase our work hours but don’t pay us for it. A 6.5% pay offer does not cut it because of high inflation. We can’t carry on doing all this hard work. They need to fund it.’
Outcheuma Ezekelsuey, UCU Branch Secretary at City and Islington College, Finsbury Park, told the rally: ‘Make sure our pickets are strong. We are working open evenings without pay. We are dedicated people but it’s very stressful. There is too much work and the pay is too low. We are not prepared to do it anymore.’
Before the rally UCU General Secretary Jo Grady and UCU President Janet Farrar joined the picket line at CONEL and told News Line: ‘The CCCG management are refusing to settle pay demands, whereas most other colleges in the country have settled pay claims of up to 10%. We have to publicise the pay settlements agreed by other colleges in London and expose the unfairness of this management. We are on the picket line today and we will support this struggle until we win it.’
