Sussex sixth form colleges stage walkouts in row over teacher pay
It's after a 5.5% pay boost was only offered to teachers in academies
Three sixth form colleges in Sussex are staging their first day of strikes following a dispute over pay.
Teachers at Brighton's Varndean College, Brighton, Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College, as well as Collyer's in Horsham are walking out until Friday after being offered a pay rise 2% less than academy staff.
They join 32 other colleges across England also taking action over what's being called a "two-tier" salary split.
Varndean College principal, Donna Marie Jansen, said teachers have been left "disappointed" after repeated action:
"We've really thought that they had fought some hard battles and and really were hopeful that the government recognised the high quality of education that students get in sixth form colleges.
"There's this feeling that staff are working really, really hard. They're ticking all the boxes for Ofsted.
"The students are having a fantastic experience - now they're fighting again.
"I would say there's a real air of despondency... that they're in this position."
Funding increased "significantly"
In a statement, the government maintained that it had "increased funding for education significantly, and pay decisions for staff are the responsibility of individual sixth form colleges."
It added: "The government remains committed to ensuring high standards across all sectors of education."
But Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said "the Government made an error in excluding non-academised sixth form colleges." from a "5.5% award" given to teachers last year.
"It creates precisely the two-tier pay system that NEU college teachers are taking protracted strike action to prevent.
"It could easily be fixed, and making up the difference would be very small beer - around £1.5 million in Government spending.
"This isn't just about fairness.
"Colleges are suffering from a recruitment and retention crisis.
"To attract, recruit and retain teachers, it is absolutely vital to deliver pay parity.
"We will never accept the injustice of a situation in which college teachers are paid different amounts for the same work."
The strikes continue until Thursday (January 9th).