College lecturers consider strike action over pay

College lecturers in teaching union the EIS are being balloted over potential strike action which could take place by Easter.

Lecturers have been offered one per cent pay rise in line with other public sector workers, but the EIS have claimed for more, and asked colleges to tackle discrepancies which see lecturers doing similar jobs in different institutions paid different amounts.

The Scottish Government has committed the sector to national bargaining on pay and conditions, meaning all staff on the same pay grade would be paid the same, but college bosses say the issue must be dealt with separately.

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The union described the offer to the EIS Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) as “unacceptable”.

EIS-FELA President John Kelly said: “Colleges are intending to impose an unreasonable, inequitable and non-agreed pay settlement on FE lecturers. This type of management imposition is not what lecturers expected from the much-lauded return to national bargaining that was promised by the Scottish Government.”

Colleges Scotland said it was disappointed by the move. In a statement the umbrella body said the union’s “exceptional” claim represented an average increase of over 13 per cent

Chief Executive Shona Struthers said: “The college sector is committed to national bargaining and to addressing pay differentials. However, this cannot be done overnight nor in isolation to conditions of service, which for lecturing staff are very generous. 

“The EIS position is so far from what is realistic that we fear any industrial action will not only detrimentally affect students but also do little to improve lecturers’ prospects of reaching a pay settlement this year.”