Six trade unions – ACM, ATL, GMB, UCU, UNISON, UNITE – representing 250,000 further education staff, have this week submitted their 2008 pay claim. The catch-up claim, for 6% or £1,500, whichever is the greater, covers FE workers in England including lecturers, learning support staff, cleaners, managers, caterers, librarians, security and lab technicians, and would establish a £7.38 an hour minimum wage.
Last year many FE staff faced a double whammy when they were awarded a below inflation pay deal which some colleges then failed to implement.
Peter Pendle, ACM General Secretary said, “College staff, including managers, continue to earn less than their counterparts in schools. It’s time this pay gap was closed, and it’s also time that pay levels in further education reflected the true cost of living.”
Barry Lovejoy, Joint Trade Union Side Secretary, said, “We want a better deal for FE staff which matches the rise in prices and the contribution members make to our colleges. The recommended award this year was well below inflation and an effective pay cut for staff. This claim seeks to make up the shortfall”
Christine Lewis, Joint Trade Union Side Secretary, said, “College staff are part of a community of public service workers who are entitled to a fair pay deal and they are determined to get one. Further Education is the driver for the Government’s skills agenda which is impossible to deliver if you have a low paid, demoralised workforce.”
The employer’s body, the Association of Colleges (AOC), makes a recommendation to individual FE colleges on pay. In the past there have been problems because a significant number of colleges have chosen not to implement the agreed pay recommendation. Some even failed to offer any annual increase.
Friday, 1 February 2008 at 8:54 pm |
My college didn’t/doesn’t implement the minimun wage