COLLEGE staff have accepted up to 16.5 per cent pay award after 13 days of strikes, the University and College Union (UCU) said today.

Staff at five colleges in Cleveland, Redcar and Stockton-on-Tess in north-east England have overwhelmingly backed the three-year pay deal, ending their dispute with employer Education Training Collective (ETC) following 17 months of strike action.

The agreement will see staff win four pay awards of between 1 and 6.5 per cent from August 2022 to August this year, and also see parking charges removed from all college campuses and staff gain additional wellbeing days.

The lecturers, course leaders and support staff will also see additional increases worth roughly 3 per cent for those at the top of their pay scales.

ETC has also made a commitment to revisit the ’24-25 pay award should additional government funding be made available.  

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “This award should now serve as a warning to other college bosses, pay our members fairly or face sustained strike action until we win.”