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220614 Respect FE ballot envelope version 2

Vote YES for a new deal for FE - ballots arriving from Wednesday 6 September!

5 September 2023

From tomorrow you will be receiving a ballot paper in the post for industrial action over pay, workloads, and to call for binding national negotiations.

This is our chance to demand and win the pay rise and workplace respect that you deserve.  

The sector is at breaking point: our ballot can change that

You know as well as I do, that for far too many further education workers, their salary simply no longer allows them to live full lives. When we surveyed our FE members, around half of you said that your income does not cover the cost of living, many of you are having to heat your homes less frequently, and some of you have even been forced to use foodbanks to survive. Against this backdrop it is nothing short of disgraceful that the Association of Colleges has so far refused to make any pay recommendation for you this year. 

This sector is at breaking point. Things cannot go on like this. 

Change is not a spectator sport: we need everyone voting YES 

It is crucial that you vote YES as soon as you receive the ballot paper. We can save further education and make it once again a sector that works for staff and students. But only by working collectively, and only by voting YES in huge numbers. This is what will bring our employers back to the table and win you the pay rise and respect that you deserve.  

Please check your post every day until you ballot arrives. Once it has, complete your vote, and send it back immediately. We also need you to let us know that you have done so. 

Speak to every colleague you know to make sure that they have done the same and post about it on social media. We can leave no stone unturned and take no vote for granted. 

Join us: Live ballot-eve event tonight at 19:00

Join me and members of the presidential team this evening [Tuesday 5 September 2023] for our ballot-eve UCU LIVE at 19:00 on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as we connect FE members all around the country and get the whole union prepared for the first papers to start hitting doormats tomorrow [Wednesday 6 September] morning.

Vote early. Vote YES. Vote for a new deal for college staff.

In solidarity

Jo Grady
UCU general secretary

Last updated: 27 September 2023