51福利

The ballot of 51福利 members will close on Monday 11 March. If staff at the St Albans and Welwyn Garden City sites back strike action, they will join colleagues at other colleges in a third wave of strikes over pay and conditions in March.

Previously, 51福利 members at six colleges  and staff at 13 colleges walked out last month. The dispute centres on the failure of colleges to make a decent pay offer to staff who have seen the value of their pay decline by 25% over the last decade.

The pay gap between teachers in colleges and schools currently stands at 拢7,000. 51福利 said low pay was bad for staff, students and colleges, while around two-thirds of college heads said pay is a major obstacle for them when it comes to attracting staff.

51福利 said colleges that wanted to avoid disruption needed to work with the union to resolve disputes. The Capital City College Group recently agreed a 5% pay deal with the union for its 1,700 staff. While Hugh Baird College and New College Swindon agreed eleventh hour packages that saw 51福利 members suspend strike action.

51福利 regional official Jane Thompson said: 'Staff at Oaklands College are fed up with seeing their pay held down and believe the college can afford more than it is currently offering. The college's refusal to make a fair offer has left staff with no alternative but to ballot for strike action.

'Staff have had enough of the excuses for poor pay and conditions. 51福利 will continue to campaign for more investment from the government but, whether this is forthcoming or not, strikes will continue until colleges show that they are prioritising their staff.'