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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Jon Pritchard

Nottingham College staff announce strike date over contracts row

Staff at Nottingham College have confirmed the date they will be staging a strike in a dispute over new contracts.

Members of the University of College Union will be downing tools and walking out on July 1.

They have staged a number of protests over the proposed contracts, which they say will lead to around 80 members of staff being £1,000 worse off, cuts to sick pay and lose eight days' holiday.

Another protest is set for June 20.

UCU head of further education, Andrew Harden, said: "UCU members at Nottingham College have been left with no choice but to take strike action. Staff who have gone nine years without a pay rise are not prepared to simply stand by and accept pay cuts and attacks on their working conditions.

"If the college wants to avoid serious disruption then it needs to urgently work with us to address the concerns of staff. 

"The overwhelming backing of strikes in the recent ballot shows the strength of feeling on this issue.

"Nottingham College would do well to learn from the colleges we have worked with to improve pay and conditions, instead of holding staff to ransom and trying to impose these damaging new contracts."

The college said it could consider potential dismissals of any individual who does not agree to the new terms. Those staff members would then be offered "re-employment" if they then agree to the terms in the new contracts.

A Nottingham College spokesman said: “We are saddened that our UCU colleagues have voted to pursue strike action.

"Everybody in the College cares passionately about providing our students with the best possible education and we will continue to talk to UCU in an attempt to reach a collective agreement.

"While we respect the rights of our staff to take industrial action our priority will be to ensure we do everything we can to ensure students’ studies are not affected.

"The College will remain open as usual throughout any industrial action."

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