Hackney and Tower Hamlets UCU agree pay deal with New City College

UCU has struck a deal with New City College* (NCC) over pay and contracts for staff at Hackney College and Tower Hamlets College.

Staff will receive £800 as a part of the deal - a one-off payment of £400 and £400 added on to their pay, which they will receive each year. Hourly-paid staff at Hackney will also be moved onto the teachers' pay spine, bolstering their terms and conditions.

The NCC deal comes after UCU reached an agreement with Capital City College Group^ last week, also over staff pay and contracts. The union said members at the colleges should be proud of their action, which led to pay increases after management told them there was no extra money available.

The union said the deals should now prompt the Association of Colleges (AoC) to bring a decent national pay offer for all college staff to negotiating table. The AoC recently performed a U-turn on college pay deals and said it would accept a pay claim from the trade unions for 2018/19, having previously said it wouldn't while strikes were happening.

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: 'UCU members took action because they were fed up of being told once again that the cupboard was bare. In both these college groups, members have secured deals on pay and contracts as a result of the action they took.

'The Association of Colleges should take note. Staff will not put up with their pay being held down any longer and the AoC must bring a fair national deal to the negotiating table.'

*New City College comprises of the following colleges:
Hackney Community College
Redbridge College
Tower Hamlets College

^Capital City College Group comprises of the following colleges:
City and Islington College
College of Haringey Enfield and North East London
Westminster Kingsway College