College lecturers back industrial action in protest over pay

Scotland’s college lecturers will join support staff in a campaign of industrial action in a protest over pay.

Members of the EIS-Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-Fela), who work across Scotland’s 26 colleges, will begin action short of strike early next month, and have warned it could escalate if their pay demands are not met.

Anne-Marie Harley, EIS-Fela president, said it is “bitterly disappointing that college lecturers are set to take industrial action for the eighth time in nine years”, and blamed the “intransigence of college employers”.

Some 78% of members who voted backed strike action, with 94% backing action short of strike. There was a 53% turnout, the union said on Friday.

The union said support for industrial action comes after employers failed to make any formal improvement on a 2% proposed rise which as rejected before Christmas.

Andrea Bradley, EIS general secretary, said: “The current pay offer is 10% less than the current rate of inflation and is thus a huge real-terms pay cut.”

Gavin Donoghue, director of College Employers Scotland, said the 2% offer is at the “limit of what colleges can afford”, and he described the vote for industrial action as “deeply disappointing”.

He said: “If this action goes ahead, it will inevitably cause disruption to students, particularly as they begin preparing for exams and assessments.”

The union said action short of a strike will mean staff withhold student results from college systems and withdraw goodwill, which means college lecturers no longer carry out duties beyond contractual requirements.

If the action short of strike fails to produce an offer acceptable to union members, it warned the dispute will be escalated to a full strike at the start of the new academic year.

Ms Harley said: “Whilst we have this industrial action mandate, we would prefer to negotiate a fair pay deal for college lecturers without the need for sustained industrial action.”

The move comes a day after learning support staff in colleges who are members of Unison, including librarians, technicians and administrative workers, backed strike action.

Their four-week ballot saw 96% of members vote for strike action on a 62% turnout, and Unison officials warned a substantially improved pay offer is needed to stop walkouts.

Mr Donoghue said: “The current EIS-Fela claim for a £5,000 pay increase for lecturers would cost colleges more than £37 million a year and would increase a lecturer’s salary at the start of the pay scale by over 14% to more than £40,000 a year.

“The current employers’ pay offer of a 2% pay increase for lecturers is at the limit of what colleges can afford. Colleges nationally are receiving flat cash funding from the Scottish Government. At the same time, costs are increasing significantly, including energy bills and other running costs.

“Nevertheless, employers are committed to seeking imaginative, flexible solutions that will allow us to secure an agreement with trade unions so that lecturers can continue delivering a world-class learning experience to our students.”