Teachers at Shrewsbury Colleges Group striking this week over 'inferior' pay offer
Teachers at Shrewsbury Colleges Group are taking part in three days of National Strike Action from Tuesday over an 'inferior' pay offer.
Between Tuesday and Thursday this week, around 2,000 teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) working in 32 non-academised sixth form colleges in England are taking strike action - taking the total number of days of action to seven, so far, since the first strike day on November 28.
The union said members of the Shrewsbury Colleges Group will be taking part in the strike and protesting between 7.30am and 9am at the English Bridge entrance.
The NEU said the dispute "rests on a clear injustice" for their members.
The union stated that while there is funding for teachers in academised sixth-form colleges to receive a 5.5 per cent pay offer for the current year, there is no equivalent funding for teachers in non-academised sixth-form colleges.
The NEU said that since its last day of strike action, the Sixth Form Colleges Association made an offer to the teaching unions.
Teachers working in academised sixth form colleges have been offered 5.5 per cent for the academic year. However, the NEU said teachers in non-academised sixth-form colleges have been offered 3.5 per cent for September to April, and 5.5 per cent from April onwards.
The union outlined that those teachers will "lag behind their academised peers" by 2 per cent for seven months.
The NEU claimed that the cost of meeting the additional bill is estimated to be £1.5 million, that the union said is "small beer" of the £300m of additional funding that has been provided to further education in the Chancellor’s most recent Budget.
The union said that teachers in non-academised sixth-form colleges have been "presented with an inferior pay offer than their counterparts in academised sixth-form colleges, despite all sixth-form colleges being covered by the same collective bargaining arrangements".
And, confirmed that teachers in non-academised sixth form colleges are striking "in order to win a fully funded above-inflation pay increase consistent with the rest of England’s teachers and teachers in academised sixth form colleges".
Speaking ahead of the three strike days, National Executive member of the National Education Union, Shirley Perry said: "Teachers take strike action with great reluctance, but our members in non-academised sixth forms have been left with little choice. It was a clear error by Government not to provide funding for pay equivalent to that granted to academised peers. It is not too late for them to correct this mistake.
"The NEU has made every effort to reason with Government, but a fully-funded fair pay award for every college is still not forthcoming. Pay justice must mean a fair, above-inflation pay award for all. Our members are determined to fight for what they clearly deserve."