Students to suffer as lecturers strike in pay freeze row

Education: ‘Both sides should put learners first’

College students caught in the crossfire of a wages row between the Scottish Government and lecturers will miss out on lessons today as teaching staff go on strike.

Staff at Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Inverness, Shetland, Moray and North Highland College in Thurso are expected to embark on the first of four days of industrial action this morning.

The staff members, who are part of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union, believe they are due a 10% pay rise to make up for “years of stagnation” under the pay freeze.

But president of the Highlands and Islands Student Association, Alan Simpson, argued that youngsters would suffer while negotiations remain at a stalemate.

He said: “Responsibility for solving this situation lies with the Scottish Government. While EIS digs its heels in, it’s students who are caught in the middle.

“Both sides claim they are putting students first. If that is true they should continue negotiating before any more damage is done.

The government upped its pay offer to lecturers public sector on Monday, after EIS confirmed plans to strike.

The offer from Education Secretary John Swinney included a 3% pay rise, backdated to last year, a further 3% from the start of this year, and a pledge of another 3% in 2020.

It also included a revision of the pay scale, adding 2% to the five main grade paypoints.

Although it is yet to be approved by councils, Mr Swinney said the boost would be funded by the government “in addition to the local government settlement”.

A University of the Highlands and Islands spokesman said: “The university and our partners are working together to determine how the strike action may affect us, to ensure any disruption is minimised and to ensure students and staff are informed about any arrangements.”

North East Scotland College insisted that it would remain open and “operate as normal”, with contingency plans in place to ensure that students can access coursework online and work in the library and IT centres.

EIS general secretary, Larry Flanagan, said teachers’ patience had been “exhausted” by negotiations dragging on.