Three-day walkout at Bradford College from Wednesday

Staff will walk out on Wednesday 3, Thursday 4 and Friday 5 July and be on picket lines outside the college on the corner of Great Horton Road and Carlton Street from 7.30am on all three days.

The college wants to axe 131 jobs in a bid to save money, but UCU said that the loss of valuable expertise would result in fewer opportunities for local people. UCU members at Bradford College have already walked out for seven days of strikes this year in the row over pay.

Staff have had only one 1% pay rise in the last 11 years and have seen their pay decline by 25% in real terms over that period. The union said that if the college wanted to avoid further disruption it needed to come back to the negotiating table prepared to talk seriously about pay and jobs.

UCU said Bradford College should look to the examples of other colleges delivering better pay and conditions for staff pointing to recent deals at Hugh Baird College and Lambeth College as examples of what could be achieved when colleges work with the union.

UCU regional official Julie Kelley said: 'UCU members have made it clear that they are not prepared to pay the price for previous failings by the college. Strike action is a last resort, but staff at Bradford face attacks on their jobs and real-terms pay cuts and they say enough is enough.

'Other colleges have shown what can be achieved when they engage seriously with us on pay and jobs and if Bradford wants to avoid serious disruption then it needs to urgently work with us to address the concerns of its staff.'