National Education Union suspends planned teacher strikes in sixth form colleges
National Education Union suspends planned teacher strikes in sixth form colleges
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Two days of strike action by teachers in sixth form colleges across England have been suspended. National Education Union (NEU) teacher members at 32 non-academised sixth form colleges were due to strike on Thursday and Friday in an ongoing dispute over pay. But the union has announced that the planned walkouts have been suspended while it consults members on a pay offer from the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA).
NEU members have already staged eight days of strike action since November in a fight for a fully-funded above-inflation pay increase. The Government announced last year that teachers in schools across England would receive a fully-funded 5.5% pay rise from September 2024. The SFCA had offered teachers in non-academised sixth form colleges 3.5% for September 2024 to March this year – and then 5.5% from April, the NEU said.
Meanwhile, teachers in sixth form colleges with academy status had been offered 5.5% from September 2024, seven months earlier than their colleagues in non-academised colleges, the NEU said previously. An NEU spokesman said: “The strike action planned for Thursday February 6 and Friday February 7 has been suspended while we consult members in non-academised sixth form colleges on the pay offer from SFCA, now that we have received firm assurances around future pay parity.”.
