Following a resounding 97% vote in favour of strike action by National Education Union members who teach in sixth form colleges, strike days have been announced across 32 colleges on the following dates: 28 November, 3 December and 4 December 2024.
Despite efforts by the NEU to resolve the dispute through clarification from the Secretary of State for Education that non-academised sixth form colleges could utilise the additional funding allocated to the sector in the budget for staff pay, no such clarification has been received. Academised sixth form colleges had previously received funding to implement the same 5.5% pay award as announced for school teachers.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"We have given the Government every opportunity to sensibly resolve this avoidable dispute. The recent comments of Jacqui Smith that she would wish to see college pay rises match those within schools are welcome and we remain hopeful that the Government will guarantee that colleges may utilise additional funding now allocated to them for staff pay. Over 2,000 NEU sixth form college teachers stand ready and will not hesitate to take strike action to win a fair pay award for every college.
"Our dispute has highlighted the lack of care shown to the further education sector as a whole and the urgent need to bring up college staff pay up to at least the same level as in schools. We remain concerned by the disregard shown by the DfE to the longstanding, effective collective bargaining arrangements in sixth form colleges and would expect that this situation would not arise in future.
"No teacher wants to take strike action. The NEU remains open to negotiation.
"It is time for the Government to put this right. The money is clearly there for a fair, above-inflation pay award for all sixth form college teachers and our members will stand firm until they get pay justice."
Editor’s Note
The ballot closed on 7 November and the result announced on 11 November: https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/sixth-form-college-ballot-results
The 32 sixth form colleges that will be called upon to take strike action are as follows:
Aquinas College (Stockport)
Barton Peveril Sixth Form College (Eastleigh)
Bolton Sixth Form College
Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College
Cardinal Newman College (Preston)
Christ The King Sixth Form College (Lewisham)
Christ The King Sixth Form College Aquinas
Capital City College – Angel (Islington)
Greenhead College (Huddersfield)
Henley College
Hills Road Sixth Form College (Cambridge)
Holy Cross College (Bury)
Itchen College (Southampton)
Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College (Birmingham)
Leyton Sixth Form College
Loreto College (Manchester)
Luton Sixth Form College
Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College (Leeds)
Peter Symonds College (Winchester)
Richard Collyer, The College of (Horsham)
Scarborough Sixth Form College
Shrewsbury Colleges Group
Sir George Monoux College (Walthamstow)
St Brendan's Sixth Form College (Bristol)
St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College (Kensington)
St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College (Clapham)
St John Rigby RC Sixth Form College (Wigan)
Varndean College (Brighton)
Wilberforce College (Hull)
Winstanley College (Wigan)
WQE and Regent College Group (Leicester)
Wyke Sixth Form College
Xaverian College (Manchester)