Almost
20 per cent of further education colleges have not paid lecturers their 3.7 per
cent pay awards agreed last year between the Association of Colleges and staff
unions.
Research
by lecturers’ union Natfhe shows that in the five months since the settlement
was reached in August, 10 per cent of FE colleges have made no award at all to
lecturers, while 7 per cent have only made partial payment.
At
the same time, college principals have received an average pay increase of 4.48
per cent, bringing their median salaries up to £70,000 a year.
This
has angered Natfhe. Paul Mackney, general secretary, said: “Colleges have found
money to pay senior staff, yet nearly one in five haven’t been able to pay any
award to teachers.
“It’s
disgraceful considering the average pay for our members languishes 10 per cent
behind that of schoolteachers.”
In
Wales the pay dispute has dragged on because of the way a similar rise was to
have been funded.
Gerald
Imison, deputy general at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, explains:
“Those lecturers receiving no pay increase will be dismayed and appalled to
learn of the reported rise in principals’ pay.
“It
is inevitable that, when considering our pay claim for 2002, ATL members will
expect their union to take account of what has happened to the pay of senior
managers. It is vital there is parity of pay.”
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
The
Natfhe survey on implementation of the 2001-02 pay award is based on returns so
far from 189 of 330 FE colleges.
