New strikes at Haywards Heath College: teachers and support staff campaign for better pay

The two days of strikes followed previous walkouts in February and were part of a national campaign for improved pay and working conditions in the sector.

Tom Woerndl, NEU rep at Haywards Heath College, said: “We’re still facing the same issues of real terms pay cuts after more than a decade of stagnating wages.”

He said that the situation had led to some full-time teaching staff getting second jobs delivering takeaways in the evenings.

Tom continued: “Clearly, this is unsustainable and will lead to more teachers and support staff leaving the profession in the long-term.”

Tom said the latest action by NEU members coincided with the 2023 Spring Budget, which had ‘no mention of extra funding for the further education sector’.

He said: “Teachers and support staff love what they do, so going on strike is a gut-wrenching decision. It’s therefore particularly disappointing that the government seemed to have again turned a blind eye to a sector that’s been under-funded for decades.”

Tom had previously told the Middy at the February strike that working in education is ‘incredibly rewarding’ and said there is ‘an excellent culture’ at Haywards Heath College. But he said ‘the numbers just don’t add up’.

At the previous protest Andrew Green, CEO for Chichester College Group (which includes Haywards Heath College), said: “We understand and we recognise the enormous financial challenges our staff are facing because of the cost-of-living crisis, so we’re doing what we can to support them while maintaining the future financial security of the group.”