College lecturers to walk out in June over pay dispute

Lecturers are due to walk out four days a week in June

Colleges face further disruption after lecturers announced new plans to strike over the next four weeks.

Workers represented by the EIS FELA union will walk out for four days every week until the end of June in an escalation of the long-running dispute with College Employers Scotland (CES)

The union has submitted a revised four-year pay claim in the dispute over the pay rise lecturers should have received in 2022.

A further meeting between the sides is scheduled for this week.

The union said the impact of strike action would vary from college to college, though buildings have generally remained open on strike days.

The first of the four-day strikes is due to take place on Tuesday 11 June.

CES has tabled a deal worth £5,000 to workers over three years.

But the union says other public sector workers are getting better deals and has raised concern that colleges might cut jobs or courses to pay for the increase.

Last week college support staff in the Unison union - including librarians and caterers - accepted a similar pay offer.

Ballot call

CES has urged EIS FELA to ballot its members on whether to accept the offer.

CES director Gavin Donoghue said it was "deeply regrettable" that strike action was going ahead, adding students would suffer most from the walkouts.

He said: "Negotiations with the EIS-FELA on its new, four-year pay claim are continuing in good faith, and it is expected further talks will take place this week.

"Employers urge the trade union to remove its threat of industrial action, including the resulting boycott, while these discussions progress.

“With the summer holiday period approaching, employers are keen to get pay rises into lecturers’ pockets as soon as possible. The quickest way to do this would be for the EIS-FELA to follow the example of its sister unions, cancel its industrial action, and ballot its members on the employers’ £5,000 pay offer.”