31 March 2006

Two-day strike in May over pay

A two-day strike will be held in further education colleges in May in response to the ‘insulting’ 1.5% pay rise offered to lecturers for 2006/7.

The two-day strike will be held on Tuesday May 2 and Wednesday May 3; the week before the second round of pay talks is due to take place.

The decision for strike action came from the union’s further education committee which met on Friday, March 31. It decided the union had to respond robustly to the derisory offer before the next pay talks on May 9. The strike will be the start of a programme of escalating industrial action, up to and including indefinite strike action.

Six further education unions, representing college lecturers, managers, support and manual staff, unanimously rejected the offer which was branded as ‘derisory’ and a ‘slap in the face’ for college staff.

The offer, made by the Association of Colleges on March 21, was in response to a joint trade union claim of 7% for 2006/7. Employers claimed that colleges had received less funding than expected.

For NATFHE members, acceptance of the offer would have meant falling a further 1.4% behind schoolteachers over the next two years. Schoolteachers will receive 2.5% in September 2006.

NATFHE remains in dispute over last year’s pay offer of 2.8%; schoolteachers got 3.2% for the same period.

The union had made it clear that in order to end the dispute, this year’s pay award also needed to address the shortfall in last year’s offer.

But despite stating at the talks that they recognised the need to address last year’s shortfall, the employers then presented their extraordinary offer.

To make matters worse, 57% of colleges are yet to award a pay deal for 2003/5 in full.

In the run-up to talks, NATFHE acknowledged the present difficult funding climate and repeatedly made it clear to the employers that phased increases and a longer agreement were feasible options to ensure the highest pay outcome for lecturers in an affordable way.

Barry Lovejoy, NATFHE’s head of colleges, said:

'A ‘healthy college’ is one where staff morale and motivation are high. A 1.5% pay offer sends out the message to staff that they are not worth investing in.

‘We have no option but to send out a robust response that college staff will not be treated like this.’

• The six unions of the National Joint Forum are NATFHE, the University & College Lecturers’ Union, UNISON, the Association of College Managers, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, the TGWU, and the GMB.  

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