UCU reveals January strike days in 32 colleges

Teachers at 32 colleges are set to hit the picket lines during the January exam period in strikes over pay and workloads.

Following the results of an England-wide ballot last week, the University and College Union (UCU)’s further education committee has decided to enact its mandate for industrial action early next year.

Staff will walk out on January 14, 15 and 16, during which several exams for vocational and technical qualifications will be set.

UCU members in 33 of the 68 colleges passed the required 50 per cent turnout threshold and backed strike action. This list now includes Myerscough College, whose strike ballot closed earlier this week, and strikes at York College have now been called off.

The move is likely to disrupt nearly two dozen Pearson BTEC exams as well as several WJEC level 1/2 technical awards that will be sat during the three strike days. AQA’s final applied general exams will take place on strike day 1.

UCU opened a nationwide ballot in October after the “disappointing” 4 per cent pay rise recommendation from the Association of Colleges earlier this year.

Out of the 68 balloted colleges, 90 per cent of their voting members supported strike action, said UCU.

Twenty-one colleges did not meet the legal 50 per cent turnout threshold, and a further 17 already settled their disputes with college employers after agreeing new pay deals worth up to 8.7 per cent and will not take part in the upcoming strikes.

The union’s ‘new deal for FE’ campaign demands pay parity with school teachers, a national workload agreement and binding national bargaining.

College teachers earn, on average, £9,000 less than their counterparts in schools, according to UCU.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “College bosses are now on notice, if they refuse to come back to the negotiating table and make staff fair offers that help close the pay gap between school and college teachers then, come January, there will be huge disruption on campuses across England.”

She added: “Our demands are reasonable, and the 33 colleges facing action need to look at the 17 that worked to settle our disputes if they want to avoid action.

“It is also now high time employers worked with us to secure meaningful sectoral bargaining so we can end this disruptive year-on-year cycle of strike ballots and action.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said he was “disappointed” after the ballot results were released last week.

“I hope it doesn’t come to fruition as it’s the students who will suffer,” he said at the time.

“AoC and college leaders have shown over many years now how committed they are to improving pay and conditions, as far as their funding will allow. We know, as do the unions, that any campaigning and action really needs to be directed nationally to secure commitments and investment from government to address the pay gap with schools and industry.”

Striking colleges:

1. Abingdon & Witney College
2. Barnet & Southgate College
3. Bournemouth and Poole College of FE
4. Bradford College
5. Brockenhurst College
6. Capital City College
7. Chesterfield College
8. City College Norwich
9. City of Bristol College
10. City of Liverpool College
11. City of Portsmouth College
12. City of Wolverhampton College
13. East Sussex College Group
14. Hugh Baird College
15. Isle of Wight College
16. Kirklees College
17. Lakes College West Cumbria
18. Lancaster and Morecambe College
19. Loughborough College Group
20. Morley College
21. Myerscough College
22. New College Swindon
23. Runshaw College
24. SK College Group
25. South & City College
26. South Bank Colleges
27. Stanmore College
28. The Sheffield College
29. Truro & Penwith College
30. Windsor Forest Colleges Group
31. Wirral Met College
32. WM College