College lecturers vote for strike action over working conditions

Edinburgh College - Jisc

College lecturers in Scotland have voted for strike action over “non-delivery” of an agreed pay deal.

In a vote members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) backed strike action by 96.4 per cent.

The trade union accused college management of “broken promises” regarding a national agreement made a year ago.

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The latest action is the culmination of a long-running dispute while the college sector moves to national collective bargaining of pay and conditions for lecturers.

Although a pay rise has been agreed, there is still thought to be disagreement over annual leave and working hours, with the EIS demanding 66 days’ annual leave and 21 hours’ class contact per week for lecturers.

The union’s General Secretary Larry Flanagan said colleges had “dragged their collective feet”.

“The level of duplicity that has been displayed by college management regarding this pay deal has been simply staggering,” he said.

The Colleges Scotland Employers’ Association called the result “hugely disappointing” and said strikes would have an impact on students.

“Employers are offering 56 days holiday and up to 26 hours class contact time, which we believe is a good package that would be warmly welcomed in other sectors,” a spokesperson said.

The agreement signed in March 2016 included changes to terms and conditions, claimed the colleges body.

“We agreed to pay the £40,000 top salary on the proviso that there would be changes to terms and conditions of service.  There must be a spirit of give and take, it cannot simply be a one-way street.”

This has been refuted by the EIS.