Lecturers at 280 further education colleges in England and Wales will strike tomorrow and Wednesday over pay. They are angry their pay has fallen 12% behind schoolteachers and had been made an "insulting" 1.5% offer from college employers, said Paul Mackney, general secretary of the lecturers' union Natfhe.
The Association of Colleges, which represents college principals, blamed the government for not investing enough money in the sector and said many colleges were facing a financial crisis.
Mr Mackney said colleges could afford more than 1.5% and is urging Estelle Morris, the education and skills secretary, to use some of the £1.4bn underspend in the education budget to help lecturers' pay.
"They are overworked, undervalued and increasingly voting with their feet. Colleges are having increasing problems in attracting young graduates because it does not look like an attractive career. Everyone acknowledges that it is not fair that lecturers do not earn as much as schoolteachers," he said. The latest pay offer to teachers was worth about 5%, so the gap would widen further unless something was done.
Examinations would not be affected by the action, said Mr Mackney. Colleges had been warned months in advance of the date but the union would help if invigilators could not be found. "What is really going to hit the students is the exodus from further education teaching," he commented.
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers is not taking action tomorrow, but today wished Natfhe well. Unless college employers made a realistic pay offer, action involving other unions would become a real possibility, said a spokesman.
The following colleges are expected to be affected by the strike:
Aberdare College
Abingdon and Witney College
Accrington & Rossendale College
Amersham & Wycombe College
Askham Bryan College
Aylesbury College
Barking College
Barnet College
Barnfield College
Barnsley College
Barry College of FE
Basingstoke College
Bedford College
Berkshire College
Beverley College
Bexley College
Bishop Auckland College
Bishop Burton College
Blackburn College
Blackpool & The Fylde College
Bolton College
Bournemouth & Poole CFE
Bournville College of FE
Bracknell and Wokingham College
Bradford College
Braintree College
Bridgend College of Technology
Bridgend College -Pencoed
Bridgwater College
Brockenhurst College
Brooklands College
Brooksby-Melton College
Burnley College
Burton College
Bury College
Calderdale College
Cambridge Regional College
Cannington College
Cannock Chase Technical College
Canterbury College
Carlisle College
Carshalton College
Chelmsford College
Chesterfield College
Chichester College
Cirencester College
City and Islington College
City College Birmingham
City College Coventry
City College Manchester
City Literature Institute College
City of Bath College
City of Bristol College
City of Sunderland College City of Westminster College
Cleveland College of Art and Design
Coleg Ceredigion
Coleg Glan Hafren
Coleg Gwent
Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor
Coleg Menai
Coleg Powys
Coleg Sircar
College of North East London
College of North West London
College of West Anglia
Cornwall College
Craven College
Croydon College
Darlington College of Technology
Daventry Tertiary College
Dearne Valley College
Deeside College of FE
Derby College
Derwentside College
Dewsbury College
Doncaster College
Dudley College
Dunstable College
East Berkshire College
East Devon College
East Durham & Houghall Community College
East Surrey College
East Yorkshire College
Eastleigh College
Easton College
Enfield College
Epping Forest College
Evesham College
Exeter College
Fareham College
Filton Technical College
Furness College
Gateshead College
GLOSCAT College
Gorseinon College of FE
Grantham College
Greenwich Community College
Grimsby College
Hackney Community College
Hadlow College
Halesowen College
Halton College
Hammersmith & West London College
Harlow College
Harrow College
Hartlepool College
Hastings College
Havering College
Henley College
Henley College Coventry
Herefordshire College of Technology
Hertford Regional College
Highbury College
Hillcroft College
Hopwood Hall College
Huddersfield College
Hugh Baird College
Hull College
Huntingdonshire Regional College
Isle College
Isle of Wight College
Joseph Priestley College
Keighley College
Kendal College
Kensington & Chelsea College
Kidderminster College
Kingston College
Kingston Maurward College
Knowsley Community College
Lakes College, West Cumbria
Lambeth College
Lancaster & Morecombe College
Leeds College of Building
Leeds College of Music
Leeds College of Technology
Leek College
Leicester College
Lewisham College
Liverpool Community College
Llandrillo Technical College
Llysfasi College of Agriculture
Loughborough College
Macclesfield College
Manchester College of Arts & Technology
Matthew Boulton College
Merthyr Tydfil College
Merton College
Mid Kent College
Middlesborough College
Milton Keynes College
Moulton College
Neath College -Coleg Castell Nedd
Nelson & Colne College
NESCOT College
New College Durham
New College Nottingham
New College Swindon
Newark & Sherwood College
Newbury College
Newcastle College
Newcastle College (-under-Lyme)
Newham College
North Birmingham College
North Derby Tertiary College
North Devon College
North East Worcestershire College
North Hertfordshire College
North Lincolnshire College
North Lindsey College
North Nottinghamshire College
North Oxfordshire College
North Trafford College
North Tyneside College
North Warwickshire & Hinckley College
North West Kent College
Northampton College
Northbrook College
Northumberland College
Norwich City College
Oaklands College
Oldham College
Orpington College
Otley College of Ag/Hort
Oxford College of FE
Park Lane College
Pembrokeshire College
Penwith College
People's College Nottingham
Pershore Group of Agricultural Colleges
Peterborough Regional College
Plumpton College
Plymouth College of Arts
Plymouth College of FE
Pontypridd Rhondda College
Queen Alexander College
Reading College
Redbridge College
Redcar & Cleveland College
Richmond College
RNIB Redhill
Rodbaston College
Rother Valley College
Rotherham College of Arts & Technology
Royal Forest of Dean College
Rugby College
Rycotewood College
Salford College
Salisbury College
Sandwell College of F & HE
Selby College
Sheffield College
Shipley College
Shrewsbury College of Art & Technology
Skelmersdale College
Solihull College
Somerset CAT
Soundwell College
South Birmingham College
South Cheshire College
South Devon College
South Downs College
South East Derbyshire College South Kent College
South Nottingham College
South Thames College
South Trafford College
South Tyneside College
Southampton College
Southgate College
Southport College
Southwark College
Sparsholt College
St Helens College
Staffordshire College of FE
Stamford College
Stanmore College
Stephenson College
Stockport College
Stockton & Billingham College
Stoke-on-Trent College
Stratford upon Avon College
Strode College
Stroud College of FE
Suffolk College
Sussex Downs College
Sutton Coldfield College
Swansea College of FE
Swindon College
Tameside College
Tamworth & Lichfield College
Teeside Tertiary College
Telford College of Art & Technology
Thanet College
Thomas Danby College
Thurrock and Basildon College
Tower Hamlets College
Tresham Institute College
Truro College
Uxbridge College
Wakefield College
Walford and North Shropshire College
Walsall College of Technology
Waltham Forest College
Warrington Collegiate
Warwickshire College
Welsh College of Horticulture
West Cheshire College
West Herts College
West Kent College
West Nottinghamshire College
West Thames College
Westminster-Kingsway
Weston-Super-Mare College
Wigan & Leigh College
Wigston College
Wiltshire College
Wirral Metropolitan College
Wolverhampton College
Worcester College of Technology
Workingmens College
Yale Tertiary College
York College
Yorkshire Coast College
Ystrad Mynach College of FE
