More than 100 members of staff at Tyne Coast College are to go on strike next week amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Staff members will be picketing outside the main entrances of the South Shields site on Monday (June 5) and Wednesday (June 7) between 7.30am and 9.30am. Lessons for pupils cancelled altogether, however the strike action will have no impact on students taking their exams.
It comes after 94% of University and College Union members voted to back industrial action, which is over the 2022/23 pay claim, following multiple real-term wage cuts and a recent pay freeze.
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A Tyne Coast College statement to pupils reads: "Please note that although we have been advised by the trade union that teachers intend to strike on 5th and 7th June this will not impact on students sitting exams. All exams will go ahead as planned.
"A list of exams taking place on each of the strike days is detailed below. Please come into college in plenty of time for your exam. You can arrive to any college entrance but the carpark entrance on St. George’s Avenue has been earmarked as an exam entrance where staff will be there to meet you, sign you in and help you prepare for your exam.
"After your exam, you can go straight home. The college is closed for lessons – open for exams only so you do not need to stay on site when your exams finish.
"If you have any queries at all, please speak to your tutor who will be happy to help."
It comes after Tyne Coast College announced the closure of the Sixth Form at Queen Alexandra College, which is a key part of their provision.
This provoked an angry reaction from parents, students and staff, with MP Alan Campbell also speaking out on the issue, causing the college to push the closure back to July 2024.
Jon Bryan, the regional support official at the University and College Union said: "Our members at Tyne Coast College have had enough. At every opportunity it seems that the staff are the last things the college seems to care about. We have been talking about pay since before Christmas, but we do not have an offer which comes close to meeting our needs.
"The staff at all sites of the college have a loyalty to their students which is something to admire. We are asking for the college to recognise that dedication by respecting the staff and paying them their worth."
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