The Association of Colleges has taken the unprecedented decision to refuse to make a pay recommendation for college staff unless ministers intervene with more funding.
Chief executive David Hughes said the association could not offer a recommendation to its members for 2023/24 because “colleges simply can’t afford to make a meaningful offer” that would not be “an insult to the hard-working staff”.
Following the start of negotiations between the AoC and five unions this week, Hughes wrote to education secretary Gillian Keegan explaining that the “difficult and unusual decision” has been forced upon the membership body due to inflation of 10 per cent and college funding lagging well behind.
Last year, the AoC recommended that colleges give staff a 2.5 per cent pay increase when the unions had been demanding a 10 per cent uplift.
