It's working

Brockenhurst College increases minimum rate of pay to £6.96 an hour

Brockenhurst College has agreed to increase its minimum rate of pay from £6.14 to £6.91 an hour following talks with UNISON. The college has also agreed to backdate the increase to the 1st August 2008. A very welcome pay rise for college staff on the minimum rates.

This breakthrough came about after UNISON contacted the college as part of our Time to Pay Up Campaign. Once we pointed out to the college that their minimum rates of pay were below the nationally agreed £6.91 an hour management acted immediately to rectify the situation. This is how good industrial relations should work and we hope other colleges will follow Brockenhurst's example by immediately deleting all pay points below £6.91 an hour.

This is a great result for the Time to Pay Up Campaign which we hope can be used as an example of good practice by reps in other colleges.

Colleges pay up

Thurrock and Basildon College in east London, and Hastings College on the south coast, have become the latest to honour the national pay deal negotiated for English further education colleges.

The moves are a marked success for the local branches. Thurrock and Basildon had originally implemented a pay award of just 2.5% from August 2008. But UNISON reps responded by mounting a campaign calling on the college to make an improved pay award to match the national deal of 3.2% or £550.

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Strikes at nine further education colleges in pay row

Nine colleges across the country will be brought to a standstill today (Thurs 2 Feb) in a row over their failure to honour a pay deal agreed over four years ago.

Members of UCU will be out in force on picket lines at the nine colleges hit by the action which are Croydon, Greenwich, College of North West London, Dearne Valley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sandwell, Sussex Downs, and Askham Bryan.

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Norwich agrees to talks

Good news from City College Norwich. Following receipt of the model letter calling for full implementation of all national pay deals college management have agreed to enter into formal discussions with the local unions.

Union reps will be speaking directly to members over the next few days about their campaign to get college management to honour all national pay deals.

Sheffield leads the way

Sheffield College has agreed to introduce the national pay scales following strike action by college staff.

UNISON and UCU members held a one day strike on the 30 September 2008 following the refusal of the college to honour the 2007/08 national pay deal. As a result of this action the college agreed to enter into serious negotiations on staff pay.

The outcome of these negotiations is that college staff will move on to the FE national pay scale from 1 March 2009. This will see staff get a pay increase ranging from 6.32% to 8.6%. The minimum wage will also increase to £6.91 an hour.

Congratulations to our colleagues at Sheffield they didn't want to take strike action but they were forced into it by the college's refusal to honour the pay award. The unions stood together and our members won the pay award they were owed.