After a constructive and positive formal National Joint Forum meeting with the college unions today, AoC is keen to share the recommendation it made in response to the claim from the unions. This will allow many colleges to move forward rapidly on improving pay for staff who are facing pressures from the cost of living crisis.
In July 2023, thanks to months of intense lobbying on pay and amid the significant increase cost-of-living, the government announced a welcome boost in funding for further education after more than a decade of cuts. This new funding allowed for a strong offer to be made by AoC in response to the union claim.
The headline is that AoC recommends that colleges should use all of their share of the £200 million pounds of additional government funding to address staff recruitment and retention challenges.
AoC is encouraging colleges to be open and transparent about the total additional funding their individual institution has received and to show how it is being used to address the pay issues they face.
