Scotland’s college lecturers have rejected a pay offer from management.
In an indicative ballot, which had a turnout of 60 per cent, members of the EIS Further Education Lecturers’ Association voted overwhelmingly to reject the terms of a cost-of-living pay offer.
They say the offer, equivalent to a 2.5 per cent consolidated uplift for lecturers over a three-year period, would result in a real-terms pay cut for Scottish FE lecturers and would effectively impose a pay cap on lecturers at a time when the Scottish government was lifting the cap for the rest of the public sector.
‘Strength of feeling’
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said the vote was “an overwhelming rejection of the pay offer and signifies the strength of feeling of our members”.
He added: “This dispute is about a cost-of-living pay rise and ensuring that lecturers’ pay keeps up with inflation.
“At a time when the sector would benefit from stability, it is regrettable that management are conflating the provision of equal pay across the sector with a cost-of-living pay increase, creating a barrier to further negotiation. We hope that this clear rejection by lecturers will cause management to think again and return with an improved offer, avoiding the risk of industrial action in our colleges.”
‘Colossal pay increase’
A spokesperson for the Colleges Scotland Employers’ Association said EIS-FELA had “continually refused to seriously engage in the process and have demanded a colossal pay increase on top of an extremely generous pay rise resulting from national bargaining”.
“A pay rise is a pay rise irrespective of how it is delivered, so it is deceptive of EIS-FELA to try and conveniently forget the huge pay increases and improvements in terms and conditions for lecturers from national bargaining. The colleges’ final pay offer would increase lecturers’ average pay from £36,125 in April 2016 to £40,522 in April 2019 - an increase of 12.2 per cent. EIS-FELA’s additional pay demand would take average pay to an unsustainable £45,033 - a 24.7 per cent rise - costing colleges an additional £60 million, which is unaffordable for the sector, as independently verified by the Scottish Funding Council.”
Since its return to national bargaining only a few years ago, the Scottish FE sector has seen strike action, both among teaching and support staff. Earlier this week, support staff ratified a pay deal that includes pay rises for three years, as well as changes to terms and conditions for Scotland’s FE support staff.
