Protest at Darlington College in row over pay cuts

Staff will gather outside the main entrance on the corner of Vicarage Road and Haughton Road from 12:30pm. The protest has been organised by UCU which is unhappy at the cuts the college wants to implement from the start of 2018. The college principal and senior managers are not affected by the pay cut.

At a union meeting on Friday 26 May, UCU members passed a motion of no confidence in the senior management team at the college. The vote came after the college increased teaching hours by 4.3% last year and is now seeking the pay cuts. Lecturers have not received a pay increase since 2012. 

The union has said it wants to seek a negotiated resolution to the current dispute. It has made a number of proposals to the college management about how to mitigate the pay cuts and even requested a meeting with the college's board of governors, which has been refused.

UCU regional official, Joyce McAndrew, said: 'Staff will be protesting outside Darlington College because following an increase in working hours last year, on top of five years without a pay rise, they are not prepared to accept a 10% pay cut.'