Staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees have announced new strike dates in a long running dispute over low pay.
On 16 May staff will picket the open day at Redcar and Cleveland College campus and on Wednesday 22 May they will picket Stockton and Riverside College campus.
The strikes are the latest escalation after staff rejected employer Education Training Collective's (ETC) most recent offer.
Members of UCU at Barking and Dagenham College will be out in force tomorrow rallying to protest against management's refusal to improve staff working conditions.
As well as a properly negotiated pay increase, members are calling for management to agree action to tackle workplace stress.
Staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees will strike on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 March.
The strikes come after an overwhelming 79.3% of UCU members at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy and Redcar and Cleveland College who voted, rejected the latest pay offer from employer Education Training Collective (ETC). Turnout was 64%.
UCU members at Capital City College Group (CCCG), London's largest further education college group, begin eight days of strike action today in their dispute over pay.
CCCG has already seen three days of strikes in what began as a national dispute over low pay and poor working conditions. With 60 colleges having settled with pay awards of up to 10% CCCG is an isolated employer and must settle the dispute.
#UCU #RespectFE #UKFE #FurtherEducation #Strikes #Solidarity
UCU members at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy, & Redcar and Cleveland College are striking today and tomorrow over pay.
An offer of 3% for 22/23 from their employer body, the Education Training Collective (ETC), was overwhelmingly rejected.
ETC has over £4m cash in the bank and is trying to recruit staff for less than £23k.
#UCU #RespectFE #UKFE #FurtherEducation #Strikes #Solidarity
Staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tees will strike tomorrow and Wednesday in a long-running dispute over low pay.
The strikes are going ahead at Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training Group, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy, and Redcar and Cleveland College after employer body the Education Training Collective (ETC) refused to make an improved offer on pay.
UCU members in English further education have agreed pay deals of up to 10% at 25 college employers after sustained work through our Respect FE campaign. These awards come on top of 35 deals already announced.
There are now seven hold-out bosses who refuse to make acceptable offers and settle their disputes.
Three new strike days have been announced at colleges which are part of the Education Training Collective (ETC) in Cleveland, Redcar, and Stockton-on-Tees in a long-running dispute over low pay.
ETC has over £4m cash in the bank, and in 2022 its principal was paid over £300k, but is trying to recruit lecturers for less than £26k.
The first strike will take place on 13 December if a better pay offer is not received, with more planned in the new year.
Members are organising and building branches as employers paper over huge problems.
As General Secretary I will commit to amplifying members' voices in Further Education and year-round resourcing of campaigns, bargaining and policy work to build leverage and members' confidence in collective action.
5/5
Problems faced by our members in Further Education go far beyond 8 "hold-out" employers in England.
FE staff have for too long been made to feel like the poor relation in the education sector, with pay far below staff doing equivalent work in schools accompanied by crushing workload.
4/5
On the picket line last week, Myerscough College #UCU strikers told me that last year, while increasing senior management pay, the college "offered" staff an insulting 0% and a food bank, ie no meaningful action on pay or workload...
This year their pay offer is delayed until January! Workload remains unsustainably intense, with much larger class and group sizes than are appropriate for the subjects and skills being taught.
3/5
Stories shared on #UCU Further Education picket lines last week reflect widespread crushing exhaustion from worsening conditions, de-professionalisation and years of staff being undervalued by employers and governments for the vital education and support they bring to students and communities.
2/5
Last week striking #UCU Further Education members at 8 colleges in England walked out to demand action on intense erosion of pay and working conditions at the root of a recruitment and retention crisis which threatens our members' health and damages students' learning experience.
Members across all subjects told me class & group sizes are so big that the quality of student experience suffers. There is a recruitment AND retention crisis.
Our members in Further Education are at breaking point.
Myerscough College could be transformed by sensible management decisions that value our members' care for students, expertise, passion and professionalism.
The college - which is sitting on large reserves - can afford it.
We demand they #RespectFE
3/3
Speaking with members it's so clear what difference a proper offer on pay and working conditions would make to staff and students.
Our members LOVE what they do but are being deprofessionalised, disrespected and demoralised by failures in leadership.
So people leave...
When you lose excellent staff, remaining staff are *even more* overworked.
Staff take work home, exhausted.
2/3
Strong Myerscough College #UCU picket this morning!
Day 2 of #UCUstrike on pay and conditions
Last year: large SMT payrise but 0% for staff, who were offered a *foodbank*
Now: delayed pay offer for academic staff, *nothing* but an April NLW statutory rise for Independent Learning Assistants
Speaking with members it's so clear what difference a proper offer on pay and working conditions would make to staff & students.
1/3
Staff at 11 colleges across England are on picket lines this morning as they begin three days of consecutive strike action over low pay and poor working conditions.
It's very disappointing some hold out college bosses have refused to give their staff the pay rise they deserve, given strikes have been called off at 32 colleges after pay offers at or above the 6.5% recommended by the employer body, the Association of Colleges.
Over 100 staff at Tyne Coast College will take two days of strike action next month on Tuesday 3 and Monday 23 October in a long-running dispute over low pay.
The latest action comes after management imposed a paltry pay award of just 3%, which staff had overwhelmingly rejected. Staff have already taken two days of strike action in the dispute.
#Solidarity with our @ucu members in Further Education in England, where the #RespectFE industrial action ballot is open as of today.
At nearly 100 colleges across England, members of our union will be voting to authorising a strike mandate to demand decent pay and working conditions.
When we stand together, we win. Please watch and share our campaign video!
Scores of English colleges face a strike ballot over low pay and poor working conditions it was announced today.
UCU is demanding a fair pay offer to help staff meet the cost-of-living crisis, a national workload agreement, and binding national pay negotiations.
So far employer body the Association of Colleges has failed to recommend any pay award whatsoever for 2023/24. The pay gap between school and college teachers is over £9k.
#FurtherEducation #RespectFE #UCU
https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/13154/Scores-of-English-colleges-face-strike-ballot-over-low-pay
