Enough is enough

“Enough is enough” was the call from picket lines across the country on the 30 November, as NEU members at sixth form colleges across the country took their first day of strike action over pay.

The time is now

(Above and opposite page) Oldham Sixth Form College in Greater Manchester (Below left and right) Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College in Birmingham

NEU members in 77 sixth form colleges (SFCs) began their strike action after a formal ballot where 88.5 per cent of voters decided to reject the Government’s pay offer of five per cent and said Yes to strike action. They are calling for a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise.

Teachers working in SFCs have suffered a real-terms pay cut of over 20 per cent since 2010. The five per cent pay rise offered by the Government is not only well below inflation, but is also expected to be taken out of colleges’ already stretched budgets.

Matt Jones, an NEU rep and drama teacher at The Blackpool SFC, was out on the picket line bright and early alongside colleagues. He said: “It’s important for kids in places like Blackpool to have educational opportunities. But we are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit staff. And that means our students suffer. If we don’t pay teachers, we can’t upskill students.”

At BSix SFC in London, while teachers went out on strike, support staff members showed their solidarity by bringing out teas,

“Enough is enough” was the call from picket lines across the country on the 30 November, as NEU members at sixth form colleges across the country took their first day of strike action over pay. Photos by Kois Miah, Rehan Jamil, Matt Wilkinson

coffees and biscuits for those on the picket line. “Our support staff were amazing. It was a fantastic atmosphere,” said NEU rep and maths teacher Julie Mukherjee.

Julie explained that going on strike was a last resort, but she felt it was the only way to get the Government to sit up and listen. “At our college we teach some of the most deprived young people in London and they deserve a proper education. If the Government gives us a pay rise that is not fully funded, that will have a detrimental effect on our budget and mean redundancies and cuts. This is why we need the extra funding for education and pay,” she said.

At St Brendan’s SFC in Bristol, NEU rep and biology teacher Bev Forsythe-Cheasley was also out on the picket line. Some students arriving at the college were initially annoyed that their teachers were on strike, “but we talked to them and told them that they should be annoyed. Because maybe then they and their parents will write to their MPs directly. If more students do that, hopefully the Government will take notice,” said Bev.

Following on from the picket lines, NEU members joined sister unions UCU and Unison in rallies and marches in Leeds, London and across the UK. In Leeds, an estimated 800 university workers and supportive students turned out for a rally as part of the UCU’s national strike action for better pay.

And in London, the concourse at King’s Cross station was brought to a standstill. Addressing the crowd alongside UCU’s general secretary Jo Grady and RMT general secretary Mick Lynch – whose members are taking part in rail strikes through December – was NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney.

Kevin said: “All of us face a common enemy: a Government that intends to hold down working people’s pay for as long as possible. We’ve won these ballots to strike because ordinary, moderate workers have had enough.

“Right now, thousands of people cannot afford to put the heating on. Can’t afford to eat properly. And that’s a social crisis caused by pay being held down when profits weren’t.

“So now’s the time that ordinary workers in this country are saying there needs to be a rebalancing. Solidarity with everyone who says enough is enough.” neu.org.uk/pay

Last chance to vote Post your ballot today

THE teachers and support staff formal strike ballots over pay are open until 13 January. In a statement before Christmas, NEU joint general secretaries Kevin Courtney and Mary Bousted said: “A wave of industrial action is gathering pace in workplaces up and down the country. “Posties, railway workers, teachers and university lecturers, all forced into taking action over pay, compulsory redundancies and unacceptable changes to working conditions. Nurses are being driven to strike because cuts to their pay are fuelling a recruitment and retention crisis that is damaging the NHS. “Teachers and support staff may have to do the same – to defend the very fabric of education. When we act alongside nurses, the Government will have to listen. “Please vote Yes to action in our formal postal pay ballot – say enough is enough, that educators, our pupils and the profession really do deserve better. Dig out your ballot paper, vote and post, then tell us you have voted.” The NEU needs 50 per cent of all members to vote in order to take any action.