Ryan FowlerAn industrial action ballot for members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union working in sixth form colleges began today, following a dispute over pay. The ballot, which runs until 10th February, is being held in response to the Sixth Form Colleges Association’s (SFCA) conditional pay offer, which the union deems unfair.
The SFCA proposed a 5.5% pay increase for teachers in sixth form college academies, while offering only 3.5% to teachers in non-academised sixth form colleges until April 2025. These teachers would receive the remaining 2% from April, resulting in a seven-month delay compared to their academy counterparts.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: “After more than a decade of real terms pay cuts, sixth form college teachers have started this academic year without a pay award comparable to their colleagues working in schools. Despite additional funding for 16-19 academies, employers have spent months advancing spurious arguments to justify not passing on an acceptable pay award to their teachers.”
Roach criticised the SFCA’s proposal, saying, “The employers’ organisation, the Sixth Form College Association, cannot justify advancing a divisive proposal of paying teachers in non-academy colleges less than their colleagues teaching in 16-19 academies for doing exactly the same job. We will not accept such unfairness and inequity and nor will we accept a situation in which any teachers are denied the pay award they are entitled to.”
He added that industrial action could be avoided if colleges committed to implementing a 5.5% pay award backdated to September 2024, calling for a national agreement to ensure all sixth form teachers receive the same increase regardless of their institution’s status.
“The employers have no excuse and no justification for putting their interests ahead of recognising and rewarding hard working and dedicated sixth form college teachers,” Roach concluded.
