UCU Congress votes for England-wide college strike ballot over low pay

UCU has already launched a consultative ballot, which closes on Friday 20 June, to lay the ground for a strike ballot to open in Autumn.

The union is demanding a new deal for further education workers, including a 10% pay rise, parity with schoolteachers, national bargaining and nationally agreed workloads.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'Today our members overwhelmingly voted for plans to win college staff a fair deal. Low pay, high workloads and a bargaining framework that does not deliver for staff have created a crisis in further education.

'We refuse to allow employers to push our members into poverty, neither will we accept workloads that leave our members working every hour under the sun. We are putting employers on notice that unless they come to the table with a decent offer, England wide strike action is on the cards.'