Leeds college staff go on strike over pay and working conditions

Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College has joined 23 others across England in striking over pay and conditions.

The National Education Union (NEU) said its members were taking action 'to secure the funding needed to sustain fair pay, conditions and employment including reversing job losses, class size increases and cuts to teaching time and curriculum provision'.

Allan Clifford, NEU teachers' rep at Notre Dame, said sixth form colleges had been hit particularly hard within the education sector, with pupils losing out more in per head funding.

"The squeeze for colleges has been much greater with and this has affected workload and stress," he said.

"It's not just teachers but support staff too. They get by - or don't get by - on incredibly low wages, and they are often asked to do extra duties on weekends and evenings.

"I have seen people really struggling with workloads."

He said there had been 'overwhelming' support from students and parents.

"We have reached crisis point," the head of the politics department said. "We now have much bigger class sizes. They understand the impact this has on their education and chances."

The college, in St Mark's Avenue, Woodhouse, has remained open, but the union organiser said there was a minimal level of activity

Around half of the college's staff are in the union and Mr Clifford said the strike had been 'solidly supported'.

"We don't want to impact students' education, we want to save their education," he added.

Notre Dame, which enrols around 2,000 pupils each year, was rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted at its last visit in 2009.

Mr Clifford called on the government to make good on promises it has made about more funding for the education sector.

"They have got to reverse the damage that the Conservatives have done to this country and to kids' education," he said.

"It is clear that the public has had enough. Woe betide them if they don't follow through with what they have promised."

Further strikes will take place on November 5 and 20 'if necessary', the NEU said.

Kevin Courtney, NEU Joint General Secretary, said: "Sixth Form Colleges have always been a beacon of quality, but funding cuts have had a savage impact on pay, conditions and jobs and have driven far too many colleges towards merger or closure.

"Strike action is always a last option but our members believe that it is necessary in order to solve our dispute and help save the sector.”

Education Minister Michelle Donelan said: “It is very disappointing that the NEU has decided to take strike action in sixth form colleges and 16-19 academies.

"With the NEU only gaining threshold support in 25 out of 87 colleges where they balloted for strikes, it is clear that this strike does not have the wholehearted support of union members.

“The decision to strike is especially discouraging given that we have committed to increasing 16-19 funding in the 2020/21 academic year by £400 million - the biggest injection of new money in a single year since 2010. This is in addition to funding the additional costs of pension schemes in 2020/21.

“We are committed to an ongoing dialogue with the NEU and I have already met with the joint general secretaries to discuss how we can avoid disruptive strike action in the future.”