1 JUN 2023
Ballot set for country-wide college strikes
Unless colleges come up with a ‘decent’ pay offer, ballots will begin in September
The University and College Union (UCU) members in the UK have voted in favor of balloting for country-wide strikes in colleges. The ballot, scheduled to take place at the beginning of the next academic year, will decide whether to proceed with strikes over issues of pay and workloads. The decision comes after the Association of Colleges (AoC) refused to make a pay proposal for the following year. If the ballot is successful, strikes could commence from October.
The UCU general secretary, Jo Grady, highlighted concerns about low pay, high workloads, and an ineffective bargaining framework within the further education sector. A recent e-ballot of around 18,000 UCU members at 190 college branches showed that 87 percent of respondents supported strike action, with a turnout exceeding 50 percent.
The UCU, along with four other education unions, is seeking a pay increase of 15.4 percent, a national workload agreement, and binding national pay negotiations. In contrast, the AoC recommended a 2.5 percent pay increase for college staff last year, whereas the unions demanded a 10 percent raise.
Jo Grady warned that if the employers do not present a satisfactory offer, the UCU will initiate balloting at colleges across England starting in September. The AoC's chief executive, David Hughes, argued that colleges cannot afford to make a meaningful pay offer without additional funding from the central government. He also mentioned that there is insufficient funding in the further education sector to ensure that pay matches the offer made to schoolteachers. This statement follows the School Teachers' Review Body's recommendation of a 6.5 percent salary increase for school teachers earlier this month. Currently, there is already an approximate £8,000 pay gap between school and college teachers.