COLLEGES cannot “shirk their responsibility” to staff and hide behind government cuts when it comes to pay and conditions, the University and College Union (UCU) warned today.

Staff working in further education demanded pay increases and extra annual leave on the second day of the union’s annual congress.

They are fed up with being told that nothing is possible unless the government comes to the rescue, UCU head of further education Andrew Harden said in a speech to delegates.

The union has submitted an annual pay claim to the Association of Colleges (AoC) calling for an extra £1 per hour for all staff, to make the living wage the minimum wage in further education and five days’ extra annual leave per year.

Mr Harden said: “This pay claim addresses the problem of declining pay in further education and provides the largest lifts for the lowest paid. We hope the AoC engages positively with us now, otherwise we could see another year of industrial unrest.

“This year should have taught colleges that they mustn’t wait until strike action to deal with us. Colleges who don’t try and hide behind government failings, but instead engage with us on the pay and conditions of their staff will receive a positive hearing.”

The claim would deliver a 4.8 per cent rise for an experienced further education lecturer and ensure the lowest paid receive the largest proportional rises.

It follows waves of strikes across England that led to a number of deals on pay increases and better conditions.

UCU warned that unless the AoC responded positively to the claim, there could be another year of industrial disruption after the summer.

National executive committee member Sean Vernell told the conference that UCU branches that have taken the most action have seen the best results, highlighting Lambeth College’s recent “exceptional” 3 per cent pay rise.

Mandy Brown from the college said union membership had also increased by 20 per cent during the action. She added that the new members had been the “most militant section” and the ones “who were really angry and pushed” for their rights.

The membership increase is a win in the face of the Tories’ 2016 Trade Union Act, which provides for tougher measures against union members taking industrial action.