College lecturers to strike
Talks on deal break down
Forth Valley College will tomorrow (Thursday) face a walk-out by some of its lecturers.
Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland-Further Education Lecturers’ Association are poised to take part in a day of strike action with a further 11 days scheduled up to the end of June.
FVC – which has 14,500 students and 600 staff across their campuses at Stirling, Alloa and Falkirk – has cancelled classes on the first day of planned action
A spokesman said all campuses will remain open for self-directed study, adding: “We are putting measures in place to minimise any disruption to our students and partners.” There are 67 academic staff and 2145 students enrolled at the Stirling campus.
Lecturers earlier this month voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over the implementation of a new pay and conditions package agreed 12 months ago.
EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan accused college bosses of duplicity and “reneging” on the deal.
“Instead of working to deliver that agreement – that was freely entered into – college managers have spent the last 12 months dragging their collective feet and attempting to undermine the pay harmonisation that they themselves agreed,” he added.
However, employers body Colleges Scotland said lecturers had already been offered an average pay rise of nine per cent over two years and accused the union of “striking to get more money for less work”.
“The only thing standing between lecturers and an average pay rise of nine per cent is the EIS insistence on 66 days’ holiday and a teaching working week of 21 hours.
“The employers have already agreed the pay rise and proposed a generous package that would provide 56 days’ holiday a year and a teaching working week of up to 26 hours.”
Colleges Scotland added: “We agreed to pay the £40,000 top salary on the proviso there would be changes in terms and conditions. There must be a spirit of give and take.”
A spokesman for the EIS, which has 4500 members in the affected colleges, described College Scotland’s claim of a nine per cent rise as a “wilful misrepresentation”.
He added: “This deal is about levelling up vastly different salaries across the country for lecturers doing the same job which is up to £12,000, a year in some cases. For many lecturers, any pay increase will be small.
“The EIS is working to protect lecturers’ conditions in a sector where significant staffing and resource cuts have seen workload soar, with implications for the learning experience of students in colleges.”
FVC say scheduled exams and events, such as the Fantasy at Your Fingertips at the Alloa Campus, will still go ahead as planned. Commercial salons and the Gallery Restaurant in Stirling will operate as normal.