With the news that the Department for Education will not be providing extra funding for the FE sector to spend on pay rises for staff, here is the story so far of the tumultuous college teachers’ pay claim.
Timeline of the 2018-19 pay claim
11 May: Unions accuse the Association of Colleges (AoC) of “playing silly games” after the membership organisation refuses to begin discussing next year’s pay claim while local pay disputes for the previous year’s claim at some colleges are ongoing.
29 May: Talks over next year’s pay deal get underway after the AoC agrees to come to the table.
1 June: At the University and College Union (UCU) FE national conference, delegates vote to ensure that its branches are poised to conduct strike ballots after the summer, should the AoC fail to make an “acceptable offer”.
27 June: The unions representing college employees submit their pay claim to the AoC, asking for a pay rise of 5 per cent or £1,500, whichever is greater.
13 July: The AoC says colleges are prepared to offer a “substantial” pay rise for staff - but only if the government agrees to foot the bill.
19 July: The AoC writes to education secretary Damian Hinds calling for a pay deal of “at least” 5 per cent over two years.
24 July: The DfE announces schoolteachers are set for a pay rise of up to 3.5 per cent from September.
16 August: Skills minister Anne Milton responds to the AoC letter saying there will be no extra funding for FE until the 2019 Spending Review at the earliest.
22 August: UCU issues a strike ballot notice to colleges.
