There Is An Alternative Say No to Sixth Form College Cuts Support the NUT Action

Sixth form colleges under attack The sixth form college sector is recognised as successful but is under attack - colleges are implementing redundancies, increases in group size and reductions in courses offered Teachers have seen pay comparability with schools lost and now face a pay freeze Students and colleges are suffering from the cuts to teaching and the abolition of the EMA

NUT Action NUT members have voted 3-1 in favour of strike action against the cuts and their impact The NUT action starts on 23 February with action in London ATL & NASUWT also considering action - NUT is talking to them about a date for joint further action in the rest of England Strike action is a last resort – the Government and employers need to listen

Teacher pay The sixth form college employers are seeking to freeze pay in The pay award of only 0.75% was well below the 2.3% in schools The employers promised to restore comparability but are offering no increase for teachers now face a further substantial real terms pay cut

NUT pay and funding campaign The NUT is at the heart of a joint campaign to defend education from the impact of the cuts In sixth form colleges, the NUT is organising two separate but simultaneous strike ballots We will continue to seek to work jointly with ATL, NASUWT and Unison on sixth form college issues and will continue to campaign against the Government’s public sector cuts

Action against the Government The Government is slashing funding for sixth form colleges The cuts have only just begun Students and teachers have already been hit The damage will be irreparable

Action against the employers We must resist the pay freeze and loss of comparability with schools The employers have a choice – and should honour their previous commitments Attacks on teachers are self-defeating

Why the cuts? Cuts to funding are part of the Government’s wider public sector cuts The cuts are being widely attacked, even by former supporters, as the economy slides towards a “double-dip” recession Cuts don’t solve problems, they create them

The long-term picture

A history lesson UK public debt is significantly lower than in many other major economies National debt is not new - it has been much higher in the past Between 1916 and 1970, UK debt was much higher than now - yet we could still fund the creation of the welfare state and the NHS

Cuts that don’t heal Treasury estimate: 600,000 public sector and 700,000 private sector jobs to be lost IFS: the deepest cuts since at least 1945 Cuts reduce spending power, increase benefit costs and reduce tax revenue The Government is doing nothing to promote growth – instead the cuts are already slowing growth and costing jobs

College cuts don’t heal (1) Sixth form colleges face significant real terms cuts Funded guided learning hours (enrichment/tutorial funding) being cut by 75% education cuts are particularly severe Some transitional protection in but no guarantees beyond this

College cuts don’t heal (2) The funding gap between 6FCs and schools will be closed, but not to the sector’s benefit “Reform” of the funding system could add more problems, while teachers’ pay and pensions are being attacked Investment in sixth form colleges is essential to economic recovery – education cuts never heal

We’re not all in this together Inequality has grown since 1979 The Government prefers spending cuts to taxing the banks Tax and NI changes will compound the impact of pay cuts and pension increases It’s all about privatisation - but public spending is needed to secure growth

Education for growth A first class education system is essential for growth We need to invest in colleges & teachers to enable young people to access HE - but the Government is cutting teacher pay and pensions as well as college funding A Government that doesn’t value education doesn’t understand economics

What can we do? Support the NUT action Get involved in the wider NUT campaign against cuts in pay & funding in sixth form colleges Talk to ATL and NASUWT members about joint action and joint activities We know there is an alternative – you can be part of the fight back!