Strike action begins at Tyne Coast College as 'fair pay' is demanded

Over 100 staff at Tyne Coast College at both the South Shields and Wallsend sites were out on strike this morning over disputes over low pay .

The latest action comes after management imposed a paltry pay award of just 3%, which staff had overwhelmingly rejected. Staff have already taken two days of strike action in the dispute. 

 Tyne Coast College stands third in the league table for the biggest gap between chief executive pay and staff. College management also informed University and College Union (UCU) last month that it intended to give notice to four members of staff.

The college has been involved in controversy recently as it suddenly announced the closure of a key part of its provision, the sixth form at Queen Alexandra College.

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This provoked anger amongst parents and students, as well as the staff, and the local MP also took up the issue. The uproar forced the college into a partial U-turn.  

University and College Union regional support official Jon Bryan said: ‘Our members will be out on strike again because management is refusing to pay them fairly. These poor relations cannot continue.

"The chief executive’s pay keeps getting higher while those in the classroom are expected to survive on poverty wages."

Responding to the government's announcement that it will consult on minimum service level, UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: ''This is a spiteful attack on workers everywhere from a party that has run out of options and will soon be run out of office. We will not stand by while Tory MPs try to force our members to cross their own picket lines.

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'The recent strike action on campus is a direct result of the market-driven dogma of successive Tory governments. They have created funding inequalities across the sector and encouraged university leaders to act as intransigent CEOs. 

'UCU will use every means at our disposal to fight these threats to our fundamental freedoms alongside the whole union movement.'

 The members of UCU at Tyne Coast College will go out on strike again later this month.