Bridgwater and District Trades Union Council has been told that UCU – the union for college staff - will strike at eleven west country colleges for ten days over the next four weeks. Here are the colleges and the details of strike days:

The eleven South West FE Colleges taking part in the strike.

Abingdon & Witney College

Bath College

Bridgwater and Taunton College

City College Plymouth

City of Bristol College

New College Swindon

Strode College

Truro & Penwith College

Weston College

Wiltshire College

Yeovil College

The strikes will take place over four weeks in the first half term of the academic year. The full dates of strike action are:

  • Week 1: Monday 26th, Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th September (3 days)
  • Week 2: Thursday 6th and Friday 7th October (2 days)
  • Week 3: Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th October (2 days)
  • Week 4: Tuesday 18th Wednesday, 19 thand Thursday 20th October (3 days)

Many classes will not run. There will be picket lines and demonstrations at these Somerset FE Colleges beginning on Monday 26th September: Yeovil, Strode (Street) Bath, Weston and and Bridgwater & Taunton Colleges

A UCU spokesperson told Bridgwater & District TUC that: “This is a strike across England. There are eleven colleges taking action across the South West. Far more than any other region. The National Pay and Conditions claim made jointly with sister union, Unison, is for three things:

1. A 10% pay award to redress years of deflated pay awards that have left FE staff as the ‘Cinderellas’ of England’s education service. A teacher in FE and at the top of the standard scale earns between £7000 and £9000 less than school teachers at the top of their main scale. For promoted higher scales, the gap is even greater.

2. Colleges to become accredited Living Wage Foundation employers, i.e. pay £10.90 per hour to our lowest paid colleagues and apply for accreditation.

3. Workload – significant movement on workload.

At BTC (Bridgwater and Taunton College), for example, there are now workload committees, but no movement on actual staff workloads.

“A major workload issue, for example, is the huge number of hours spent by tutors on EHCP reviews. These are the Education Health Care Plans for students eligible for extra Local Authority funding. UCU believes these are not the responsibility of tutors.”

“UCU believes EHCPs are a Local Authority responsibility. If this is devolved to the College, then the Special Education Needs leader is responsible for these instruments and must lead. Tutors are there, simply to contribute to the process, but not to run the whole process.”