STAFF at 17 further education colleges across England are taking three days of strike action this week after employers refused to make improved offers on pay and working conditions.
Members of the University and College Union were on strike the day before yesterday, yesterday and today, with picket lines across all affected colleges.
The dispute forms part of the union’s call for a New Deal for further education.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ‘Industrial action is a last resort, but staff up and down England have been left with no choice.’
She added: ‘There is still time for colleges to make fair offers that help close the pay gap between school and college teachers,’ and said employers must agree to ‘meaningful sectoral bargaining’ to avoid repeated disputes.
Yesterday, staff on the picket line at Morley College in south London said the action followed inadequate pay proposals.
UCU representative Jill Kennedy-McNeill said: ‘This is the second day of our three-day strike over pay, workload and a national bargaining agreement.’
She added: ‘We have been offered only a 2% pay increase, which is nowhere near the UCU demand for 10%, or even the 4% recommendation of the Association of Colleges,’ and said adult education was ‘dramatically underfunded’.
Despite heavy rain, a picket line gathered outside the Tottenham High Road site of Capital City College, with placards reading: ‘Fair pay for further education!’ and ‘Stolen our pay, support our strike!’
Branch secretary Denise Wallis said: ‘Lecturers have only received 2.5% in the last 18 months. We want some respect.’
She added: ‘We get considerably less than school teachers. Our support services have been cut and cut, so lecturers are having to do this work themselves. National bargaining will help.’
Staff at the Blackstock Road picket in Finsbury Park also raised concerns about conditions.
Joanne Payne, secretary for the Centre for Lifelong Learning, said, ‘Management are not shifting their position. They’re coming after our conditions, our holidays and our pay.’
