Sixth form college teachers to stage three more days of strikes in pay dispute
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Sixth form college teachers in England will resume strike action this week in a dispute over pay. National Education Union (NEU) teacher members at 32 non-academised sixth form colleges will walk out for three consecutive days from Tuesday in a fight for a fully funded above-inflation pay increase.
It comes after NEU members staged four days of strike action in November and December. The Government announced in July that teachers and leaders in England will receive a fully funded 5.5% pay rise this academic year. Although sixth form colleges with academy status have been guaranteed funding to implement the pay offer for staff, this is not the case for those which have not become academies, the union said.
Teachers in non-academised sixth form colleges have been presented with an “inferior pay offer” compared with their peers, according to the NEU. Since the last day of strike action last month, the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) has offered teachers in non-academised sixth form colleges 3.5% for September to April, and 5.5% from April, the union said.
These teachers will lag behind their peers in academised colleges by 2% for seven months, which creates a “two-tier” pay system, the NEU warned. Around 2,000 teacher members are expected to take part in the strike action at the start of term. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said: “The teaching profession was awarded a 5.5% award last year and the Government made an error in excluding non-academised sixth form colleges.
