A November 5 strike in further education colleges looks certain after employers refused to reopen pay negotiations with unions this week. The Association of Colleges said its latest offer of a 2.3 per cent increase was "at the top end of what is affordable".
But the AoC called on the five unions involved in representing lecturers and support staff in colleges - Natfhe, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Unison, the Transport and General Workers Union, and the GMB - to join with employers in a unified call to government for more further education funding.
Ivor Jones, AoC director of employment policy, said that although the government had announced an extra 1 per cent real-terms funding for colleges, this would not come into effect until next academic year at the earliest.