Further education colleges say they need an extra £110m from government over the next two years to fund pay rises for their staff and prevent strike action in November.
But employers, the Association of Colleges, says it cannot afford an increase on the 2.3% pay offer rejected by all FE unions. Five of the six unions are threatening strike action, widely anticipated for November 5.
Staff want the AoC to match a settlement recently reached between university lecturers and local government workers and their employers of 3.5%, as part of a move towards parity with schoolteachers.
But the AoC says it has already made its best offer, and the government must act now to end the stalemate.
AoC chief executive David Gibson today denied union claims that it could offer more and said the recent 1% increase in funding to colleges pledged in July's comprehensive spending review announcements would come too late to improve pay offers this year. Local colleges operate at 15 to 20% below schools' funding levels.
"The ball is in Estelle Morris' court. She has funds available to avert this strike. Providing an extra £30m this year and £80m next year would enable colleges to match the 3.5% pay offer made to comparable staff in other sectors. Alternatively, she could allow colleges to find an extra 1% by freeing up some of the funds which the government has ring-fenced, preventing us from spending them on pay.
"However, we want colleges to have a well-paid workforce, not one which is constantly under-resourced compared with schools and higher education. We are looking for a much higher settlement in the medium term to resolve the long-standing problem of low pay in further education."
A Natfhe spokeswoman maintained that the promise of money from the government in the comprehensive spending review was enough for the colleges to resume talks on pay.
"The promise of additional money has opened up new possibilities. We are asking the employers to start new talks now and the government to give us the details of the comprehensive spending review settlement sooner rather than later so that we can get on with addressing the issue of pay. The colleges need more money, but what they have heard from the government is enough to get us back round a table for discussions," she said.
