Teachers in sixth form colleges will formally ballot for strike action this month over the government’s refusal to extend the school teacher pay rise to them.
Under ministers’ public sector pay plans announced in July, schools and sixth form colleges that have converted to academy status will receive a slice of £1.2 billion to help cover a 5.5 per cent salary boost for teachers.
But the funding will not be extended to the 40 sixth form colleges that have decided to not academise. It means any pay rise from England’s 40 sixth form colleges will have to be fully funded from their own coffers.
The National Education Union (NEU), which represents teachers in sixth form colleges and negotiates their pay as part of the national joint council with the Sixth Form College Association (SFCA), will run the strike ballot for 2,500 members from September 14 to November 7.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said the government’s decision to award funding to some sixth form colleges and not to others “undermines an effective system of collective bargaining”.
“This flies in the face of the Labour’s manifesto commitment to good faith negotiation and bargaining,” he added.
“It would be an abrogation of responsibility by the new Labour government to allow the pay gap between schools and colleges to widen further, when the opportunity is there to support a crucial sector for economic growth through ending pay inequality between schools and colleges.”
Like general FE colleges that will also not receive any additional cash to help fund teacher pay rises, sixth form colleges were reclassified as public sector bodies in November 2022. This move imposed a series of strict controls around borrowing, governance and several other areas, similar to what schools have to abide by.
But, like the government’s refusal to exempt colleges from paying VAT despite now being classified as public sector bodies, officials have opted to also ignore colleges when it comes to public sector pay awards.
Bill Watkin, chief executive of the SFCA, said: “It is deeply disappointing that our 40 sixth form colleges members could face strike action because the government has taken the illogical decision to fund a pay award for teachers of sixth formers in schools but not teachers of sixth formers in colleges.
“Both schools and colleges are state-funded public sector bodies, and sixth form colleges receive 22 per cent less funding than schools. Despite this, the government has found £1.2 billion to fund a pay award in schools but has been unable to find the £5 million required to fund the same pay award in sixth form colleges.”
Watkin added that the NEU is “right to say” this decision “undermines our effective system of collective bargaining and we urge the government to rethink its decision not to fund a fair pay deal for sixth form college teachers”.
Kebebe added: “NEU teachers in the affected sixth form colleges are ready to fight for a fair pay award for all. The NEU believe that the government should revisit the decision not to fund non-academised sixth form colleges, to avoid a damaging and unnecessary dispute.”
NEU sixth form college teachers went on strike for the first time in six years in 2022 after a 1 per cent pay award.
Sixth form college teachers then got a 5 per cent pay increase in 2022/23 followed by a 6.5 per cent salary bump in 2023/24.
Pay row hits parliament
Ministers were pressed on the pay issue in education questions in the House of Commons this week but showed no signs of conceding.
It was the first front-bench appearance of education secretary Bridget Phillipson’s team since the general election.
Responding to questions from Ellie Chowns, the new Green MP for North Herefordshire, and Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham, schools minister Catherine McKinnell said the government was facing an “incredibly challenging fiscal position”.
“We will continue to keep the matter under review, because we want to ensure every child has the best opportunities, whether that is in our school system or in our FE sector,” McKinnell said.
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