A petition calling for fair contracts at Nottingham College has been signed by more than 1,300 people.
It was started by a former Nottingham College student, who thanked the staff for creating “one of the most supportive learning environments in Nottinghamshire.”
Background: 15 days of strikes threatened over college contracts
News: Funding is not an excuse for no negiotation
Opinion: Why teachers’ workload would rise without cap on hours
The petition states: “It is unreasonable for teachers to be expected to be able to adapt to the new larger workload when they are being paid much less than their efforts are worth.
“Many join the teaching profession for the satisfaction of seeing young people grow and develop new skills, yet the new conditions the staff will be forced to accept will prevent them from giving their students the support they need.
“In order for the college to be successful, both the staff and students must have their needs met, and the new contract is not in the interests of either party.”
The petition comes as Nottingham staff are in the midst of 15 days of strikes. Tomorrow, will be the seventh day of strike action.
New contracts
The action is a result of the college’s move to implement new contracts - which, according to the University and College Union (UCU), would mean staff had their pay cut and key protections against work overload removed.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “As the support for this petition shows, the move to impose new contracts at Nottingham College has caused real anger - not just among affected staff but also among students and the community.
“In particular, removing protections against work overload will only damage the ability of staff to provide high-quality education for students, and must be resisted. Strike action is a last resort for members, but the ball is in the employer’s court. The college management must come back to the negotiating table and properly address the concerns of staff if it wishes to avoid further disruption in the coming weeks.”
A spokesperson for Nottingham College said: “The college is continuing to work with representatives from the UCU to try and bring this strike to an end. Last Wednesday, we met with the UCU’s national and regional officials and after many hours of negotiation believed we had reached an agreement which they would put to their members last Thursday. The UCU formally informed us last night that our latest proposals had been rejected. The college is keen to resume negotiations as soon as possible.”
