Cheshire College South & West staff to strike in July and August

An overwhelming 79% of UCU members who voted backed strike action in a ballot that had a turnout of 58%.  

Staff across the three CCSW campuses in Crewe, Ellesmere Port and Chester will down tools on Monday 7 July and again on Thursday 21, Friday 22 and Tuesday 26 August, with pickets at the Crewe campus from 8am-11am on each day.  

The dispute is over management's refusal to provide staff a pay award for the current year; instead imposing a paltry one-off payment of just 1.5%.  

Staff at the majority of other colleges across the region have received permanent increases, many of them above inflation. The failure to make a consolidated pay award means CCSW staff will see their pay fall behind salaries at comparable colleges. 

The union said well-paid senior managers are choosing to attack the living standards of hard-working staff even though the college is in good financial health. The college principal, Jasbir Dhesi had a total remuneration package of £213k in 2024, a £20k increase from the year before. 

UCU regional official Matt Arrowsmith said: 'Staff at Cheshire College South & West have no choice but to strike over management's refusal to make a consolidated pay award. It is frankly sickening that a college run by a principal who has a total package worth hundreds of thousands of pounds is trying to get away with making staff accept a one-off payment of just 1.5%.  

'College bosses now need to offer a proper, consolidated pay award if they want to avoid strike action and severe disruption on campuses.'