Pay deal sees end of strikes
Lectureres accept latest wage offer
Lecturers at Forth Valley College have agreed to a nationwide pay deal with college bosses that will bring an end to months of disputes and industrial action.
Following a week-long online ballot of the Educational Institute of Scotland Further Education Lecturers’ Association, members agreed overwhelmingly to accept the latest pay offer.
EIS-FELA members voted by 88 per cent to accept the offer, with only 12 per cent of those balloted voting to turn it down.
The offer was also ratified by Colleges Scotland Employers’ Association on behalf of college chiefs last week, meaning that both sides have now reached an agreement on pay, and terms and conditions.
Forth Valley lecturers have participated in six days of strike action since January as part of the pay dispute, as well as other forms of industrial action including withdrawal of goodwill and a boycott of college results systems.
Lecturers have accepted a deal which, in its first two years, will give them an unconsolidated payment of £400.
For the third year and five months, they will receive a consolidated payment of £1,500.
The combined pay rises, a result of harmonisation and the pay offer agreed, will increase the top rate of unpromoted lecturer pay to £41,526 from April 2019.
More than 90 per cent of lecturers across Scotland sit at the top of the scale, according to the CSEA.
The deal runs from April 1, 2017 to August 31 2020, and is set to bring the pay period for lecturers in line with support staff workers.
Chief executive of Colleges Scotland Employers’ Association, Shona Struthers, welcomed the agreement but added: “The £17.5 million this deal is costing all comes from colleges making cuts, which will be challenging as the sector is already under considerable financial pressures.
“Lecturers in Scotland are the best paid in the UK, earning approximately £10,000 more than their English counterparts, and the pay harmonisation rises from 2017 to 2020, combined with the improved pay deal agreed with the EIS-FELA, equate to a national average increase of over £5,000 – or more than 13 per cent.”
General secretary of EIS, Larry Flanagan, said: “We hope the settlement of this dispute will allow for a period of stability within Scotland’s colleges. It is regrettable that lecturers were forced into taking six days of strike action to secure a fair cost of living pay settlement. Nevertheless, it is very welcome that a resolution has been reached.”
“Scotland’s colleges play a vital role in supporting lifelong learning, and are particularly important in providing opportunities for adult returners to education.”
“College lecturers work extremely hard to support students in their learning, and want to ensure the best possible learning experience for students in all of Scotland’s colleges - but the EIS believes that greater investment is needed in colleges, and would call on Scottish Government to better support the sector.”