The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Students’ studies hit by lecturers’ walkout
Union and management still at loggerheads over national agreement
Students preparing for exam season had to cope with disruption to their classes after a walkout by lecturers.
Members of the EIS union walked out at institutions across Scotland yesterday, with dozens of lecturers standing at pickets outside Courier Country colleges including Fife, Dundee and Angus, and Perth UHI.
EIS (Educational Institute of Scotland) members held the action after college managements were accused of failing to honour a pay deal reached early last year.
Sara O’Hagan, EIS branch secretary for Perth UHI, said: “We recognise that taking industrial action is a last resort and we have tried everything we can to avoid this.
“However, we feel that we need to do this to get management to honour the deal they made more than a year ago.”
In Fife, dozens of EIS member lecturers staged a picket outside Fife College’s campus in Kirkcaldy.
Fife branch secretary Alison Davidson said: “We were promised that pay would be brought into line with colleges throughout Scotland.
“We deal with some of the most vulnerable students in the country here and we want to be teaching them, not standing outside.”
Dundee and Angus College principal Grant Ritchie said: “While we hope a satisfactory agreement will be met soon, we were forced to cancel classes on the day of the strike. We did, however, keep our libraries and learning centres open for private study. It is really disappointing to have to take this action so close to the exam season.
“With the introduction of national collective bargaining, unions now negotiate with Colleges Scotland Employers’ Association and not the individual colleges. Dundee and Angus College continues to enjoy excellent relations with unions representing both support and academic staff.”
A Perth UHI spokesperson said: “The university and our partners are working together to ensure any disruption is minimised and to ensure students and staff are informed about any arrangements.”
A spokesperson for the Colleges Scotland Employers’ Association (CSEA) said: “It is hugely disappointing that the EIS is taking strike action that will affect college students at this critical time.
“The strike is completely unnecessary and inappropriate at a time when we are engaged in Acas talks with the EIS to try to resolve this dispute.
“Harmonisation of pay and conditions is a complex process that requires compromise, not strikes and disruption.
“The EIS should call an end to this unnecessary industrial action, get back round the negotiation table with employers and allow students to get on with their studies.”
While we hope a satisfactory agreement will be met soon, we were forced to cancel classes. GRANT RITCHIE DUNDEE AND ANGUS COLLEGE