UNISON writes to college heads asking for a decent pay rise

The letter comes ahead of a National Joint Forum (NJF) meeting on Tuesday 19 September between FE employers and the union.

Even if colleges have implemented all of the recommended pay rises, pay for FE workers has fallen in real-terms by 21.5% since 2009.

Many colleges have not implemented pay rises for a number of years meaning that pay has fallen even more sharply and members are finding it hard to make ends meet.

As UNISON continues its Pay Up Now! campaign and the pressure grows on the government to announce an end to the public sector pay cap, the union believes FE colleges must look to ensure that their staff have a fair and decent pay rise this year – one that is implemented in colleges across England.

With an increasing focus on delivering high quality apprenticeships, the need to address skills and training in the wider UK workforce, a strong and well-motivated workforce in FE is more important than ever.

UNISON has called for FE colleges to tackle low pay in the sector and to use the living wage foundation pay rates as the minimum rate of pay.