News Flash - Union unrest over pay and conditions

DONCASTER College lecturers union officials today reported a surge of membership for today's strike over a long-standing pay row.

Officials at the borough's branch of the University and College Union said they had seen a rush of online membership applications ahead of today's one-day strike by hundreds of lecturers. But the college has pledged to carry on as normal despite the lecturers' action. The union accuses the college of refusing to honour a national pay deal thrashed out in 2004, describing it as one of the "longest IOUs" in the history of industrial relations.Pickets were today out at the main college Hub building at the Waterfront and at the college's High Melton site, collecting signatures on a petition. A rally was planned for the Waterfront site at midday. Doncaster branch secretary Rod Challis described the strike as solid.He said: "Everyone has had enough. The thing about it, is we're not in it for the money, but this is a pay offer that dates back to 2004, and we've still not seen it yet. It just illustrates the scant regard the management has held for the staff

News Flash - Success! as York college strike is called off!

8:31am Tuesday 29th September 2009

A STRIKE planned for a York college has been called off at the last minute. Staff at Askham Bryan College planned to stage a one-day walk-out over a long-running pay dispute today.
But they have cancelled their intended industrial action after the University and College Union (UCU) said talks would now take place with the arbitration service ACAS.

Lecturers at the college went on strike in June over what they claim is a failure by the institution’s management to honour a pay deal thrashed out in 2004. However, the college has denied these claims and has said the pay deal which has been put on the table is fair.

Strikes were today being held at five other UK colleges. The union says the 2004 pay agreement would introduce new wage scales which would mean higher salaries for new lecturers and allow swifter progression to better-paid roles, bringing them into line with how schoolteachers are paid.

Pay row prompts lecturers' strike

Staff at five further education colleges are staging the 24-hour strike. Lecturers at five colleges have gone on strike over a long-running pay dispute with bosses. Staff at Doncaster College, Rotherham College and Leeds College of Art and Design are staging the 24-hour action. Employees at Greenwich Community College in London and Suffolk New College in Ipswich are also out on the picket lines. They are unhappy that bosses have not implemented a 2004 pay recommendation which would result in wage increases.

'Decent wage'

The University and College Union (UCU) said some further education lecturers would earn up to £4,500 more a year if the pay recommendation was put in place. It described the failure to implement the new wage system as "one of the longest IOUs" in the history of industrial relations. UCU branch secretary for Doncaster, Hazel Raven, said classes at the college had been cancelled for some students. "It is regrettable and we are sorry that this is a consequence of the action, but we need management to talk to us and find a resolution to this dispute," she said.

Student impact

"This recommendation has been followed by about three quarters of colleges and while we recognise there is not a lot of money about at the moment, we feel our staff deserve a decent wage." UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: "Flexible agreements have been agreed at a host of other colleges with serious financial difficulties to implement the deal, so there really is no excuse for these colleges to continue to refuse paying their staff fairly."

A spokeswoman for the Association of Colleges, which made the pay recommendation, said: "We are disappointed that the UCU is calling for industrial action at these colleges, not least because of the impact that this will have on students at the beginning of the new academic year."
She added that under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, colleges had the right to determine their own pay and conditions and national recommendations were only advisory.

Latest News on Lecturers' strike (29/09/09)

Staff at five further education colleges are staging a 24-hour strike.

Lecturers at five colleges have gone on strike over a long-running pay dispute with bosses. Staff at Doncaster College, Rotherham College and Leeds College of Art and Design are staging the 24-hour action. Employees at Greenwich Community College in London and Suffolk New College in Ipswich are also out on the picket lines.

They are unhappy that bosses have not implemented a 2004 pay recommendation which would result in wage increases. 'Decent wage' - The University and College Union (UCU) said some further education lecturers would earn up to £4,500 more a year if the pay recommendation was put in place. It described the failure to implement the new wage system as "one of the longest IOUs" in the history of industrial relations.

UCU branch secretary for Doncaster, Hazel Raven, said classes at the college had been cancelled for some students. "It is regrettable and we are sorry that this is a consequence of the action, but we need management to talk to us and find a resolution to this dispute," she said. Student impact -
"This recommendation has been followed by about three quarters of colleges and while we recognise there is not a lot of money about at the moment, we feel our staff deserve a decent wage."
UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: "Flexible agreements have been agreed at a host of other colleges with serious financial difficulties to implement the deal, so there really is no excuse for these colleges to continue to refuse paying their staff fairly."
A spokeswoman for the Association of Colleges, which made the pay recommendation, said: "We are disappointed that the UCU is calling for industrial action at these colleges, not least because of the impact that this will have on students at the beginning of the new academic year."
She added that under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, colleges had the right to determine their own pay and conditions and national recommendations were only advisory.

News Flash

It would be great if between now and Tuesday we could send a message of support to the branch secretaries/chairs of the UCU branches involved in next Tuesday's strike action. They are:

Doncaster - Rodney Challis - rodney.challis@don.ac.uk
Askham Bryan - Tina Hill - tah@askham-bryan.ac.uk
Rotherham - Tom Donaldson - tdonaldson@rotherham.ac.uk
Leeds College of Art - Richard Miles - richard.miles@leeds-art.ac.uk

You may also email the relevant college principals or their representatives. The email addresses are above.

A suggested form of words are below for you to cut and paste into an email.

"Dear Principal

It is really outrageous that your college has failed to honour the Harmonised Pay agreement of 2004. Lecturers at (Askham Bryan, Doncaster, RCAT,Leeds College of Art) (AMEND TO SUIT) have provided your college and the communities they serve with unswerving dedication and hard work over the past four years.

Please will you sit down with UCU representatives at your college and reach agreement about a way forward. This issue has gone on for far too long. It will not go away by continuing to ignore the matter".

Tony

News Flash

It would be great if members could send a message of support to the branch secretaries/chairs of the UCU branches involved in next Tuesday's strike action. They are:

Doncaster - Rodney Challis - rodney.challis@don.ac.uk
Askham Bryan - Tina Hill - tah@askham-bryan.ac.uk
Rotherham - Tom Donaldson - tdonaldson@rotherham.ac.uk
Leeds College of Art - Richard Miles - richard.miles@leeds-art.ac.uk

You may also email the relevant college principals or their representatives. The email addresses are below.

A suggested form of words are below for you to cut and paste into an email.

Dear Principal

It is really outrageous that your college has failed to honour the Harmonised Pay agreement of 2004. Lecturers at (Askham Bryan, Doncaster, RCAT,Leeds College of Art) (AMEND TO SUIT) have provided your college and the communities they serve with unswerving dedication and hard work over the past four years.

Please will you sit down with UCU representatives at your college and reach agreement about a way forward. This issue has gone on for far too long. It will not go away by continuing to ignore the matter.

Hope you can find the time to fire something off.

Thanks

John

News Flash - 2009 Pay Offer!!

Delegates at the Special FE Sector Conference held on 19 September voted to reject the Association of Colleges’ pay offer of 1.5% for staff in colleges in England. Speakers supporting the Further Education Committee’s motion rejecting the pay offer described it as derisory and as a step backwards in the fight for pay parity with school teachers who have been awarded 2.3%.

The Special Sector Conference was called to determine the union’s position on the employers’ pay offer of 1.5% and to consider strategies to fight job threats in the sector.

After the decision to reject the employers’ 1.5% offer, Conference moved on to motions which dealt with strategies to achieve an improved offer from the employers. After a spirited debate, Conference agreed to hold a ballot of all FE members in England for a programme of escalating industrial action starting with one day and moving to two and three days action in subsequent weeks. It was also agreed that action should be coordinated, where possible, with the Higher Education campaign on pay and jobs.

Preparations for the ballot are to start immediately with branches being asked to complete membership checks by 16 October.

News Flash - UCU Membership Checks

Please note that your officicials will be conducting a membership check in preparation for the industrial action ballot for strike action. These will need to be returned by 16 October.

News Flash - Success! at Tower Hamlets College!

There has been success at Tower Hamlets College. Members at the college have been taking indefinite strike action since 27 August. In the last week, there have been intensive talks with the college management to resolve the dispute. Late yesterday it was confirmed that compulsory redundancies have been successfully avoided through voluntary redundancy ,successful appeals or offers of redeployment. The College has agreed not to revisit the redundancy pools and UCU has confirmed that it will cease industrial action in respect of the current trade dispute which is now resolved and staff will return to work on today, Friday 25 September. The College and UCU wish to restore positive industrial relations and work constructively together to address the on-going serious challenges facing the College. The College has confirmed that there will be no repercussions to staff who have participated in the current industrial action (save that staff will not be paid for days when they were on strike). There is little doubt that this resolution is down to the extraordinary determination shown by UCU members at Tower Hamlets, combined with the fantastic support shown by the wider union. A big thanks to everyone who took sent messages of support, took collections, signed the online petition, attended demonstrations or hosted speakers from Tower Hamlets.