Lecturers in industrial action pay dock threat
Hard-up Paisley lecturers face having their pay docked as West College Scotland threatens to sanction those taking part in industrial action.
The college – which has seen teaching staff strike in nine of the past 10 years in pursuit of better pay – says it will deduct wages from all staff who refuse to enter students’ grades into a national database.
A marking boycott was launched by the education union EIS-FELA last year as part of its action short of strike agenda.
It means that while students are given their grades, they are not entered into the national system which, in part, governs the funding allocated to colleges by the Sottish Government.
But lecturers who have not had a pay rise in almost three years say the threat to dock wages is an assault on their right to strike.
Speaking the day before another planned walkout John Alison, the EIS-FELA representative at the Paisley campus, said: “Members are really feeling the financial pressure.
“There has been no raise since September 2021 and by this September, the Retail Price Index (RPI) will put inflation at 25 per cent.
“That is putting significant stress on lecturers, especially part-time staff who have seen mortgage rates go up along with everything else.
“And having spoken to lecturers, this threat has only served to strengthen their resolve to fight for fair pay. They see this threat as an unnecessary attempt to undermine legitimate industrial action.”
The latest pay offer in the longrunning dispute would see all staff offered a flat-rate £5,000 increase over three years,
However the union is demanding £8,000 which will also cover the 2024/25 period.
Going forward EIS-FELA wants to see WCS principal Liz Connolly remove the threat of deeming and to commit to resuming negotiations with her peers within CES.
The union also wants to see CES use this period of change within the Scottish Government to lobby for greater funding for the college sector, not only to secure additional funding for pay rises, but to ensure the sustainability of further education in the long term.
Should CES fail to meet these demands, EIS-FELA will escalate its industrial action throughout the month of May.
WCS is one of a number of colleges across Scotland which has threatened to dock wages as part if the ongoing national dispute.
A spokesperson for the college said it had to act in the “best interests” of its students.
They said: “Deducting pay is never a measure that colleges want to take.
“We absolutely recognise the legal right to take industrial action, but entering results is a critical aspect of the employment contract, and failure to do so hits directly at students.
“We therefore remain concerned about the negative impact another resulting boycott may have on students’ dedication and success being recognised through the awarding of qualifications, and in turn their ability to progress with their learning or careers.”
Gavin Donoghue, CES director, said: “Further strikes by the EIS-FELA will not lead to an improved pay offer from college employers, only more disruption for students.
“Colleges simply cannot offer to give what they do not have, especially when government funding is set to fall by nearly five per cent in 2024/25.
“We urge the EIS-FELA to cancel its industrial action and put the employers’ full and final pay offer to its members in a formal ballot.”