by David Kaplan, UCU rep at WM College, personal capacity
University and College Union (UCU) members at WM College in Camden will be taking part in the national strike action for pay parity on 14-16 January.
We are an adult education college, and as such we have had to face a real cut in funding from central and local government.
Funding
This year, my college faced a double whammy of cuts: a 6% cut in funding from the Labour government and a 3% cut in regional funding. Despite our college being in his constituency, the large number of letters from our principal to Keir Starmer have not persuaded him to properly fund our sector.
We are taking action because we desperately need more funding for our college. Management’s proposal of no pay rise but two additional day’s holiday was rejected by UCU members. Our demands include more funding to make sure that any pay rise doesn’t come with strings attached – either increased workload or cuts in jobs or provision.
Casualisation
The majority of our tutors are sessional: they are on flexible contracts and are paid for each hour they teach. They have just as many administrative duties to carry out as permanent tutors but aren’t paid for that. The union needs to take up a determined campaign against the casualisation of teaching in our college.
The mood of staff was buoyed by the London UCU lobby of parliament on 19 November, to raise the need for more funding for adult education ahead of the Budget. Over 100 staff and students attended the lobby, most participating in a demonstration for the first time.
But the proposal for no pay rise, coming after a number of redundancies in the summer, further angered everyone. And all of this at the same time as the daily grind of admin tasks, which staff feel serve no real purpose.
Adult education has such far-reaching benefits but is the easiest sector to cut. Staff feel they have a huge amount to contribute, given the funding and opportunity. All of this has fanned the flames for strike action.
- After the three days of strike, the UCU Further Education Committee will discuss next steps. Socialist Party members will argue for an escalating campaign.
- At the end of January, voting opens in the UCU National Executive Committee elections. It is a vital opportunity to strengthen the numbers of those on the national and further education committees who want to build a serious fightback. Vote to re-elect Socialist Party member Duncan Moore in the UK-elected FE seat.