College lecturers to strike in London on Monday as employers fail to deliver on pay

The London lecturers will join a TUC lobby of MPs on Monday, in defence of public services.

Yesterday the college employers' association (Association of Colleges, AoC) failed to make an acceptable offer to the six further education unions who are seeking a 6% pay increase or £1,500.

Employers offered a deal worth only 2.5% in cash terms, though couched as a 3% offer, but starting from 1 October not 1 August as is normal. All six unions roundly rejected the offer as inadequate.

Barry Lovejoy, head of further education at UCU, said: 'This kind of offer is not going to meet our members' expectations and Monday's strike in London goes ahead. Employers wasted an opportunity to prevent this by failing to make a serious offer. And if employers do not significantly improve their offer they can expect more of the same in September - across England. College lecturers are providing high quality work, earning high satisfaction levels from students but watching the value of their pay diminish. It is already 6% less than schoolteachers' pay and the gap must be closed. '

On 4 June college lecturers in England were involved in widespread protests at colleges, alongside colleagues from other college unions to highlight their case for improved pay. Many of the protests attracted student support. Several became parties and celebrations of solidarity. In London, a student band performed in support, while in York a protest highlighted the 'loss of the lunchbreak' an increasingly common concern as growing workloads pile pressures on lecturers: