Staff at Oxfordshire and Norwich colleges to walk out over pay and conditions

Among staff from the 25 colleges striking are union members from Abingdon & Witney College, and City College Norwich

Author: Isabella HudsonPublished 9th Jan 2026

Staff at 25 colleges across England will stage three days of strike action next week in a dispute over pay and working conditions.

Among those striking are staff from Abingdon & Witney College, and City College Norwich.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) will walk out from Wednesday to Friday, mounting picket lines outside colleges and holding a national rally in Westminster on Friday.

The UCU said its members at other colleges have settled their disputes following pay awards worth up to 8.7%.

The union said it was pressing employers to work with them to implement meaningful sectoral bargaining, so further education can avoid the cycle of strike ballots and disruption seen over the past few years.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "Industrial action is a last resort for our members, but staff up and down England have been left with no choice.

"There is still time for colleges to make fair offers that help close the pay gap between school and college teachers.

"Our demands are reasonable, and management at colleges where staff are taking action need to look at those that worked to settle their disputes.

"Employers must now agree to meaningful sectoral bargaining so further education can avoid the cycle of strike ballots and disruption that we have seen over the past few years."

Colleges where UCU members are taking strike action are:

Abingdon & Witney College

Bournemouth and Poole College of FE

Capital City College

Chesterfield College

City College Norwich

City of Bristol College

City of Liverpool College

City of Portsmouth College

City of Wolverhampton College

Hugh Baird College

Isle of Wight College

Kirklees College

Lancaster and Morecambe College

Loughborough College Group

Morley College

New College Swindon

SK College Group

South & City College

South Bank Colleges

Stanmore College

The Sheffield College

Truro & Penwith College

Windsor Forest Colleges Group

Wirral Met College

Working Men's College

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