UCU turns screw on colleges with collective ballot

A collective nationwide ballot of college staff will be staged by the University and College Union to boost the impact of potential industrial action.

The UCU will adopt the strategy for the first time in its dispute with all FE colleges over pay and conditions.

Its congress backed the pooling of votes across England earlier this year to “strengthen our collective leverage” with employers and ministers.

The union told members it would take action following negotiations with the Association of Colleges earlier this month that resulted in a 3.5 per cent recommendation.

The five FE staff unions are demanding a 10 per cent pay rise or £3,000, whichever is greater, to reverse real-terms cuts over the last 15 years, as well as pay parity with school teachers and a binding national bargaining agreement.

The collective ballot means votes at each college are combined as a national pool and would have to surpass an overall 50 per cent turnout threshold.

As an example, three equally sized union branches with 65, 53 and 46 per cent turnouts would create an aggregate response rate of 55 per cent.

Last year’s ballots were held at branch level after an aggregated ballot was rejected in 2024. Teachers at 32 of 68 colleges passed the 50 per cent turnout threshold and backed strike action, but lecturers at only 17 colleges walked out after several branches settled pay deals above the AoC’s 4 per cent recommendation.

The UCU already uses the aggregate method in higher education. Its last two attempts in 2023 and 2025 both fell short of the turnout threshold, at 43 per cent and 39 per cent, although the majority backed action over pay and job cuts.

‘Surprised and disappointed’

David Hughes, AoC chief executive, said he was “surprised and disappointed” the UCU was “still” considering taking aggregated national action against colleges.

“Our last meeting with the staff unions was very constructive and reflected that we have been working together to secure the investment needed to improve pay and conditions in colleges,” he said.

“The pressure we exerted, together, this year led to the extra investment from the Department for Education which colleges will use to try to reach our recommended pay award of 3.5 per cent. That recommendation is in line with school teachers, and slightly ahead of school support staff.”

The government announced in July that FE would receive an extra £485 million over the next two years to help with college recruitment and retention.

Maximising branch numbers

A successful ballot would give the union the potential to call coordinated action across all the employers covered.

The union said it was taking legal advice to “maximise the number of branches that can lawfully participate” and intends to publish a timetable “soon”.

UCU guidance revealed that branches that agreed a deal for 2026-27 before July 1 were “highly likely” to be excluded from the national dispute. The union did not explain how branches that settled later would be treated.

Colleges are free to set their own pay rises locally. Several have already settled pay deals of up to 5 per cent.

Exeter and North Devon Colleges Group agreed to pay 3.5 per cent, backdated to September.

Group principal John Laramy said he hoped to make further improvements to pay later in the year, “particularly to our starting salaries for teachers”.

Nottingham College settled on a 5 per cent pay rise with unions in September. West Herts College Group recently awarded 4 per cent, with qualified teachers’ base pay rising nearly 11 per cent from £37,876 to £42,000.

The College of West Anglia has not yet decided its 2026-27 award, though its strategic plan has a target to “meet or exceed” the AoC recommendation.

Elsewhere, Barnsley College said it could not detail any offer as this year’s pay award would be effective from January 2027.

The UCU was contacted for comment.