Kirklees College support staff strike in pay dispute

Support staff have gone on strike at Kirklees College

Workers at a West Yorkshire college have gone on strike over pay.

Support staff at Kirklees College began four days of industrial action on Monday after managers rejected calls for a 10% pay rise.

The union Unison said some of its members faced having to turn to food banks as they struggled with the cost-of-living crisis.

The college said it was "committed to increasing staff pay" but had to ensure rises were "sustainable".

Unison claimed the college had refused to negotiate over wage increases.

Staff walked out as students returned for the new term on Monday and were due to picket outside the college's main buildings in Manchester Road, Huddersfield, and Bradford Road, Dewsbury.

They plan to strike again on Tuesday, as well as on 20 and 21 September.

Jordan Stapleton, the union's area organiser for Yorkshire, said disrupting students was "the last thing our members want" but staff had "been left with no option" but to strike.

"Our members have been on the end of 10 years of real-terms pay cuts and obviously we're in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis," he told BBC Radio Leeds.

"Some of our members are facing the food banks again this winter, particularly as the energy bills are still very high."

'Sustainable future'

The union submitted a pay claim to the college in November calling for 10% increases for support staff, with a minimum rise of £2,000, backdated to 1 September 2022.

It said the college had implemented rises ranging from 2.5% to 9.7% and a lump sum payment of either £500 or £750, depending on salary.

Kirklees College said it "must ensure a sustainable future with an affordable pay increase which does not inadvertently put jobs at risk longer term".

A spokesperson added: "This is a sector challenge as pay demands are high, as they are across the public sector at this time."

In May, 150 college staff who were members of the University and College Union went on a strike over what they called a "derisory" pay offer.