Scotland’s FE minister, Richard Lochhead, has urged lecturers and college management to resolve a dispute over pay that will result in teachers at colleges across the country going on strike tomorrow. 

Mr Lochhead told Tes the dispute was about a cost-of-living pay uplift “over and above the additional costs of the harmonisation of pay, terms and conditions”. He said: “The Scottish government has invested heavily in Scotland’s colleges and is funding in full the additional costs of this harmonisation, which is helping colleges to deliver an average 9 per cent pay increase to lecturers over three years.

“I continue to urge both sides to resolve this dispute in a spirit of collaboration and co-operation as its continuation is in no one’s interests, least of all our students.”

Members of the EIS-FELA teaching union across Scotland will walk out tomorrow for the first day of strike action in a dispute over pay. While a deal to harmonise pay and protect core conditions was agreed in May 2017, a cost-of-living increase has not been. According to Colleges Scotland, colleges have offered an increase that would take the average pay increase from 9 per cent to 12.2 per cent - or an average cash increase of over £4,000 - but this has been rejected.

No agreement on lecturers’ pay

Yesterday, EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan wrote to umbrella body Colleges Scotland,  saying the union had been seeking a negotiation meeting, but this had been refused. “I understand that FELA negotiators have moderated our original cost-of-living claim, which now matches the deal agreed with support staff unions and should provide the basis for agreement to be reached. That cannot happen, however, unless management is at least prepared to come to the table. Why wouldn’t you?”

He added that there was “a cynical view abroad that there will be a cost saving arising out of the strike, which colleges are keen to garner, or that an entrenched antagonism towards FELA has promoted a disregard for the impact on students of strike action. I subscribe to neither of those. My view is that, like me, college principals are keen to see a negotiated settlement which avoids further strike action and disruption”.

Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said it was “extremely disappointing” that lecturers were taking strike action “for the third time in four years.

Scottish lecturers ‘best paid in UK’

“At the heart of this dispute is EIS-FELA’s refusal to recognise that the substantial pay increases awarded to most lecturers from the previously agreed ‘same pay’ deal represent a pay rise. They also want more pay for cost of living, but a pay rise is a pay rise, irrespective of whether it comes from the ‘same pay’ agreement or the additional cost-of-living offer.

“As well as most lecturers receiving hefty pay rises from the ‘same pay’ settlement, all lecturers have benefited from receiving a minimum of 62 days’ annual holiday, a reduction in weekly contact with students to 23 hours, excellent career-average pensions, and have all their terms and conditions either safeguarded or enhanced.”

She added that lecturers in Scotland were already the best paid across the UK and this offer brought the average salary up from £36,125 in April 2016 to £40,522 in April 2019.