Multiple colleges have settled pay disputes with unionised lecturers ahead of next week’s England-wide strike action. Pay awards of up to 4.5 per cent have been agreed by FE teachers at a further four colleges across the country following the University and College Union (UCU)’s ballot over pay and workloads. Staff at Barnet & Southgate College, Brockenhurst College, Bradford College and East Sussex College will no longer walk out for three days next week. The news follows three other colleges that agreed before Christmas to abandon strike action after winning pay awards of between 4 and 7 per cent. It now means a total of 25 colleges will see teachers down their tools on January 14, 15 and 16, when several vocational and technical exams take place. UCU told FE Week that its Bradford branch settled on a 4.5 per cent pay deal and is setting up a senior lecturer pay grade. East Sussex College agreed to a 4 per cent pay deal across the board as well as an extra boost to the packages for teachers at the top of the lecturer pay scale, equal to 1.5 per cent. UCU opened a nationwide ballot in October after the “disappointing” 4 per cent pay rise non-binding recommendation from the Association of Colleges. Union members at 33 of the 54 balloted colleges passed the legally required 50 per cent turnout threshold and backed strike action, demanding pay parity with school teachers, a national workload agreement and binding national bargaining. Twenty-one colleges failed to meet the threshold, and now 24 colleges have settled their disputes with deals worth up to 8.7 per cent. UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “Industrial action is a last resort for our members, but staff up and down England have been left with no choice. There is still time for colleges to make fair offers that help close the pay gap between school and college teachers. “Our demands are reasonable, and management at colleges where staff are taking action need to look at those that worked to settle their disputes. Employers must now agree to meaningful sectoral bargaining so further education can avoid the cycle of strike ballots and disruption that we have seen over the past few years.” List of striking colleges: Abingdon & Witney College Bournemouth and Poole College of FE Capital City College Chesterfield College City College Norwich City of Bristol College City of Liverpool College City of Portsmouth College City of Wolverhampton College Hugh Baird College Isle of Wight College Kirklees College Lancaster and Morecambe College Loughborough College Group Morley College New College Swindon SK College Group South & City College South Bank Colleges Stanmore College The Sheffield College Truro & Penwith College Windsor Forest Colleges Group Wirral Met College Working Men’s College