National Education Union members who teach in non academised sixth form colleges have voted overwhelmingly to end their dispute with the Secretary of State for Education. After eight days of strike action, a member consultation had been initiated following the receipt of firm, written assurances from the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA), that there would be no two-tier pay offers put forward in future years and all pay awards will have a single pay settlement date.
78.6 per cent of members balloted voted to accept the revised pay offer on a 64.6 per cent turnout. The revised offer was 4.3 per cent for non-academised colleges and 5.5 per cent for academised colleges, plus the new guarantees.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
‘Against all odds, our sixth form college members have made significant gains in eight days of strike action against an unfair decision by government to underfund non-academised sixth form colleges. Through their collective action, college teachers have boosted funding to the sector for an above-inflation pay award, guaranteed the integrity of their collective bargaining and safeguarded the future of the sixth form college sector into the long term.’
‘There was no need for the Government to have let this dispute run on when a fair solution was readily at hand. While the concrete guarantees we have secured will ensure that two-tier pay offers do not reoccur in future, we need to see far more investment in sixth form colleges and FE overall. By standing their ground against a clear pay injustice, our sixth form college teachers have spoken for the post-16 sector as a whole.’