Sixth-form colleges are taking legal action against the government to secure the same funding for pay rises handed to schools, as staff at colleges across England begin a series of strikes.
More than 2,000 members of the National Education Union (NEU) at sixth-form colleges will walk out on Thursday, followed by further strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, in the education sector’s first national industrial action since Labour took office.
The Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) is seeking a judicial review of the government’s decision to give extra funding to schools for the 5.5% pay rise awarded to teachers this year, but not to sixth-form colleges without academy status.
Bill Watkin, the chief executive of the SFCA, said: “The government could avoid the disruption to young people’s education that will be caused by this strike action by revisiting its decision to fund a pay award for staff in schools but not colleges.
“College staff and students are suffering because of this illogical and, we believe, unlawful decision. We do not condone strike action in colleges, as this further disadvantages institutions that the government has already disadvantaged, but we know the NEU shares our determination to see college staff and students get a fair deal from the government on this issue.”
Although sixth-form colleges with academy status have been guaranteed funding to match the pay rise, colleges that are not academised will be expected to increase teachers’ pay at the same rate without extra funding.
Daniel Kebede, the NEU’s general secretary, described the situation as “ludicrous” and called on the government to resolve the unfair treatment at the 32 colleges on strike.
Kebede said: “No teacher wants to take strike action, but our members have voted overwhelmingly to do so in the face of a clear injustice by the government to match the funding for a comparable pay award to the 5.5% pay deal seen elsewhere in academised sixth-form colleges and schools.
“The NEU has made every effort ahead of the strike days to press the case with government for a fair, funded pay award for every college, but we have failed to receive any response.
“As we still have no resolution to this ludicrous situation, our members are left with no choice but to take action to get their voices heard. There is no pay justice without the same pay deal applying to all.”
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A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Ensuring people have the skills they need for the future is crucial to this government’s number one mission to grow the economy. We recognise the vital role that further education, including sixth-form colleges, play in this.
“Sixth-form colleges are responsible for the setting of appropriate pay for their workforce and for managing their own industrial relations.
“The October budget provided an additional £300m revenue funding for further education to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.”