College chiefs hit out over deal to pay lecturers £40,000
Union leader issues warning as plea made to help fund £80m cost
COLLEGE bosses have attacked a deal to introduce new national salary scales for lecturers of up to £40,000.
The board of Ayrshire College has described the agreement, struck between employers and lecturers’ unions in March, as “disappointing” and unaffordable.
Colleges Scotland has estimated moves to harmonise pay across further education will cost £80 million, a figure it has submit- ted to the Scottish Government’s spending review.
However, no detailed costings have been carried out and talks over the implementation of national pay rates appear to have reached stalemate despite the March deal between Colleges Scotland and the EIS-FELA union.
Published minutes from a board meeting of Ayrshire College, which took place in the wake of the March agreement, described aspects of it as “surprising”.
The minutes state: “A number of aspects of the settlement were considered to be disappointing, with seemingly open-ended commitments being made with no detail of how these commitments could or would be fulfilled or funded.
“It was noted the settlements as outlined would add circa £900,000 to the pay bill at a time of flat cash funding and, until the 2016/17 funding letter had been received, it was not possible to know what, or if any, additional funding would be made available to offset the significant costs.
“The board wished to emphasise and place on record its unanimous view that Ayrshire College could not afford to meet on a sustainable basis either a pay uplift or harmonisation while flat cash funding of the college sector continued.”
The minutes add that the board believes the “continual erosion” of funding would bring about a “diminution of the services” students.
It concludes: “The board was unanimously of the view that if the Scottish Government wished national bargaining to be continued successfully and without constant discord, then it would have to provide the funding required thorough the injection of new monies to meet its aims.”
However, Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, warned staff would take action if colleges tried to back out of the deal.
He said: “The agreement that included a timeline for the establishment of national pay scales and harmonised national conditions was agreed less than six months ago.
“It is deeply disappointing that colleges seem to be now questioning an agreement they entered into such a short time ago and this may explain the frustrating slippage of the agreement’s agreed implementation schedule.”
In its manifesto for the 2011 Scottish Parliament’s elections the SNP promised to introduce national pay bargaining for colleges as part of wider reforms of the sector including a host of mergers.
Under the previous system of local bargaining, significant differences have opened up in lecturers’ terms and conditions, with some staff earning as much as £12,000 more for a similar job.
Meanwhile, Unison, which represents college support workers, organised a protest at the launch of the new City of Glasgow College, attended by Education Secretary John Swinney.
Unison wants Mr Swinney to ensure colleges give support staff the same pay rise as lecturers.