Staff at a college in Liverpool are set to strike over two separate days when students across the country will be sitting some of their most important GCSE exams.
Unionised staff at the City of Liverpool College have confirmed that they will be striking on Tuesday, June 7 and Friday, June 10, when students at the college and across the country will be sitting crucial Maths (Tuesday) and English (Friday) GCSE exams.
The two days of strike follow previous action taken on Wednesday, May 18 - the day of another crucial GCSE English exam - by members of the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) at the college. The UCU are demanding college bosses increase pay by at least 8.5% to match the ongoing cost of living crisis.
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The union said that pay for staff in further education establishments, such as the City of Liverpool College, has fallen behind inflation by 35%. They also said that college teachers make around £9,000 less on average per year than their counterparts working in schools.
Martyn Moss, Regional Official for the UCU, said: "We urge employers to do the right thing and give staff a pay rise so strike action can be avoided. Our members take huge pride in educating and supporting students, and striking during exams is a last resort, but staff are rightly outraged that their bosses have repeatedly held down pay.
"Now as inflation and energy costs soar, bosses urgently need to raise pay so we can avoid disruption to crucial GCSE English exams."
A spokesperson for the City of Liverpool College said: "We are disappointed that strike action has been planned to coincide with this week's GCSE Maths and English exams, particularly as we are currently engaged with UCU, in good faith, in a dispute resolution process via ACAS, which is ongoing.
"We are proud to compare favourably to other colleges in the Liverpool City Region when it comes to our staff salaries, terms and conditions. We understand the impact of rising costs on individuals and organisations across the UK, and have in fact made an offer to UCU of a 3% rise - a figure which is higher than many other employers and which we hope will be accepted.
"We’ve also given an additional one-off payment of £400 to our staff to help with the national cost-of-living crisis. At a national level, UCU have made a request of an 8.5% pay increase which would be simply unaffordable for the sector without drastic increases in government funding.
"We know just how much work our students and their teachers have put in throughout the year to prepare for their exams, and it’s incredibly important to us that they are given the best possible chance of success this week. There will be no changes to any exam arrangements and all students will receive the same high standards that they expect from us year-round.
"We are grateful to all of our staff for their continued efforts in pulling together to put our students first."
