Thirty thousand lecturers are going on strike tomorrow morning in colleges across England and Wales, in a move that college employers, a teachers' union and student groups have criticised as ill-timed and unfortunate.
Students at 290 colleges will be affected by the strike, which will coincide with rallies in London, Newcastle, Birmingham, Coventry and Manchester. But none of the unions involved know yet whether any colleges will actually be shut down by the action or what proportion of lecturers will turn up for work.
Angry at falling levels of pay, the university and college lecturers' union, Nafthe, called for industrial action after rejecting a 3% pay increase offered by college employers. Nafthe's general secretary, Paul Mackney, defends tomorrow's action.
"Our members are demanding a little respect for what they've achieved. They've seen school and sixth form colleagues' pay fall 10% behind that of school teachers, who are themselves not satisfied. Lecturers do not take strike action lightly," he said.
Unions representing every affected group, including students, employers and even one teachers' union have criticised Natfhe's decision as reckless, given that students are just now going into their final examinations.
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers' (ALT) deputy general secretary, Gerald Imison, said that strike action could even damage teachers' chances of getting a better pay deal, by wrecking negotiations.
"In ATL's view this action is premature, given the fact that the employers have made an initial offer in response to our pay claim and another meeting is planned. We are sympathetic to Nafthe's frustration but do not see the advantage of interrupting the education process at such a crucial time for students," he said.
The national secretary of the National Union of Students (NUS), Ben Monks, said that although students supported lecturers' demands for better pay, taking action at this time of year was far too costly.
"NUS' first priority is the welfare of students, who are more likely to be affected by action at this time of the year than previously. While NUS wholeheartedly supports the teaching unions in their calls for better pay and conditions, we cannot in this instance provide our formal backing to industrial action," he said.
College employers have gone even further, alleging that the strike action is being taken without the support of the whole union and that it is premature to risk damaging students' examinations while negotiations are ongoing.
The Association of Colleges' (AOC) director of employment policy, Ivor Jones, said, "We do not believe that the great majority of staff in our colleges wish to compromise the education of their students in this way. Only a minority of staff has voted in favour of this harmful action. It is therefore impossible to say whether all colleges will shut down, as Nafthe claims.
"AOC remains sympathetic to the claims of all college staff for improved pay, but many colleges simply are not in a position to pay the sums that Nafthe is demanding."
For a full list of affected colleges click here.
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