UCU expects the additional funding to be prioritised for staff pay

UCU wrote to college CEO/principals requesting that they call on the AoC to recommend a pay increase this year in line with the joint trade unions' claim: UCU letter to FE England CEOs, 24 Nov 20 [210kb]

Andrew Harden, UCU head of further education, told branches: 'We know that FE will be called upon to play an historic role in the nation's post-pandemic recovery effort. We also know that a decade of austerity has left the sector with a loss of more than 24,000 teaching jobs and a 30% pay cut for FE staff in real terms.

After years of the joint unions and the AoC campaigning together for increased funding, the government announced an extra £400 million for FE last year. The AoC said that the money would not arrive in colleges until 2020/21. That time is now.'

'UCU expects the additional funding to be prioritised for staff pay as it was intended - please do what you can to make this clear to your CEO/principal', he added.