Staff at a North East college have announced that they will undertake three days of strike action in a row over pay.

Darlington College staff will walk out on Tuesday 6 December, Wednesday 7 December and Monday 12 December, after a University and College Union ballot. 

In the ballot, 95 per cent of those who voted were in favour of strike action, with UCU demanding a pay award of at least 10 per cent to help staff to meet the cost of living crisis.

This move for more strike action comes only weeks after staff walkouts at Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, won a deal worth 9.2 per cent for the majority of the college's lecturers. 

Read more: 'We have members who can't heat their homes': Darlington protestors demand a general election

The union says staff at Darlington College have voted to strike after their employer imposed a pay award of only one per cent, alongside a one-off payment of £250. 

The UCU say that this offer is "paltry", reasoning that, with the Retail Price Index (RPI) at 12.6 per cent, staff wages have "fallen dramatically behind inflation". 

However, it is understood the offer quoted by the union was offered last December when inflation was much lower and were pre-cost of living crisis. This year’s offer will be discussed at a meeting in December. 

UCU regional support official Chris Robinson said: "This result shows the strength of feeling of our members who have been left with no choice but to take strike action.  

"Darlington College’s paltry 1% pay offer, when inflation is soaring, is nothing short of a slap in the face after years of below-inflation pay awards have left our members financially insecure.

"Management need to come back to us with a realistic offer or face disruption throughout December."

Darlington College principal and chief executive Kate Roe said: “The College fully understands the difficult impact of the rising cost of living for staff and has been in discussions with trade unions for some months.

“The College Board of governors make their annual decision regarding a pay award in December and have made it clear that they want to make the best offer they can.

“They have a duty to balance this against affordability and the need to ensure ongoing solvency for the College. At this point, no decision has been made.

“Darlington College, along with all other colleges across the country, also continues to lobby the Government to increase funding rates – most of which have not been increased for a decade – in order to provide more sustainability for an underfunded sector.”

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The RPI tracks the changes in the cost of a fixed basket of goods, comparing price quotes for representative items over time.

RPI is used to track the cost of living and wage escalation but is not considered an official inflation rate by the government, and is typically around 0.9 percentage points higher than the comparably calculated Consumer Prices Index.

Research by UCU has shown that 80 per cent of college staff are more financially insecure than they were a year ago, with 82 per cent saying that their financial insecurity is impacting their mental health. 

Because of this financial insecurity, 25 per cent of college workers said that they are skipping meals, and 42 per cent said their income does not cover the cost of living - which UCU called "beyond scandalous". 

 

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