UCU members working in further education in England are to be balloted over taking industrial action after the union rejected this year's pay offer.
Five unions representing staff in English further education colleges rejected the 2.25% pay recommendation for staff from the Association of Colleges, which was made at a joint negotiating meeting.
The meeting took place in the context of over a decade of real terms pay cuts for further education staff, which has seen pay fall behind inflation by more than 35% since 2009. In March, the unions jointly submitted a claim for a pay rise of 10% on all points with a minimum uplift of £2000, all colleges to become accredited Foundation Living wage employers and for significant movement towards agreements on workload in colleges.
