Iain Dalton, Socialist Party Yorkshire
On 3 and 4 February, Unison members at Leeds Conservatoire went on strike for the first time, against two-tier pay at the Higher Education institution.
Formerly, the Conservatoire was Leeds College of Music, before it was taken over by Luminate Education Group, which also runs Leeds City College.
After a restructure in 2023, some of the workforce became employed by Luminate Education Group, whilst others remained directly employed by Leeds Conservatoire.
Those directly employed were told that their pay would increase in line with Luminate employees. But in the last three years, pay for Luminate workers has gone up 10%, while directly employed Conservatoire workers have only had 3%. Hence the strike!
Since the ballot, more members of staff have joined Unison.
