Strike at Haywards Heath College: teaching and support staff call for better pay

In Sussex members of the National Education Union had voted to strike on February 1, March 2, March 15 and March 16.

The NEU said those striking would include ‘teacher members working in schools and sixth form colleges’.

Tom Woerndl, the NEU rep at the college, said: “Working in education is incredibly rewarding and we have an excellent culture at Haywards Heath College.”

But he told the Middy ‘the numbers just don’t add up’.

Tom said: “Starting salaries for teachers at our college group are £22,000, while for support staff the picture is much worse.”

See which schools were closed or partly closed here

He continued: “We’re facing a recruitment crisis in the sector and, if we want to recruit the best and brightest, government need to release extra funding to increase starting salaries for teachers and learning support workers, while also giving a pay rise to existing staff that would go some way to easing the cost of living pressures that many are facing.”

The NEU said the strike day is ‘in pursuance of a fully funded, above inflation pay rise’.

Maria Fawcett, regional secretary for the NEU, said: “The Government cannot expect strikes to be averted unless it brings forward concrete proposals for increasing pay. Experienced teachers have seen a 23 per cent real-terms pay cut since 2010. Given the current cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation, this is clearly an unsustainable situation for our members. The Government appears to have nothing to say to them.

“As well as allowing the profession to haemorrhage talent, the Government has missed its own targets for recruitment by an enormous margin and has done so for many years. Any sensible Government would by now have started to ask themselves why.

“Our members are taking a stand today for a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise, because the profession cannot go on like this. Parents know the consequences of persistent underfunding, both for their school/college and for their child. This strike should not be necessary, and we regret the disruption caused to parents and pupils, but our aims are in the interests of everyone in the education community.”

Andrew Green, CEO for Chichester College Group (which includes Haywards Heath College), said: “Colleges have faced more than a decade of brutal cuts and increased costs, made worse by the pandemic and the current energy bill crisis. We understand and we recognise the enormous financial challenges our staff are facing because of the cost-of-living crisis, so we’re doing what we can to support them while maintaining the future financial security of the group.

“Our staff continue to be our most valuable asset, and we are committed to investing in them as much as possible. In August, we awarded a three percent pay increase to all staff with an additional lump sum payment made in October to certain groups of staff (which equated to a weighted pay increase of 5.3 per cent). At the same time, the senior management team all voted to decline a pay increase themselves, using the money saved to provide additional support for those who need it.

“But we know the rate of inflation is increasing rapidly and we are constantly reviewing what we can do to support staff further, at a time when our own college budgets are being stretched by rising costs and underfunding. It’s why we continue to support the Association of Colleges in their campaign in calling for better funding for further education, as we have – for far too long – been widely underfunded.”