This week I joined with college lecturers in Fife as they undertook another day of action to make the case for college management to honour the deal that was signed more than a year ago.
This is not a situation that should be allowed to continue as it is damaging to staff morale and ultimately to students.
I have written to the Scottish Government asking that they do get directly involved as they cannot just sit back and allow Further Education to be damaged in this way.
It has been suggested that colleges are struggling financially and if this is the case then there is a duty on college management to say exactly what the position is. As far as the lecturers I have spoken to are concerned the deal was fully funded, if this is not the case then the responsibility is direct with management to say so.
Below is a copy of a letter I received from the EIS General Secretary and you can support the petition at the EIS Web Site http://www.eis.org.uk/
Dear Alex,
As you will be aware, college Lecturers across Scotland are currently involved in a campaign of strike action to ensure “equal pay for equal work”.
Colleges Scotland has broken an Agreement they voluntarily made last year, leaving lecturers with no option but to act.
Management openly admit that the time scale for pay harmonisation is agreed; that the pay scales are agreed; and that Colleges have the money “banked” to pay for the deal. So why are they reneging?
The simple reason is that they want leverage in the current, but separate, negotiation around harmonisation of terms and conditions. The EIS also wants an agreement on conditions but the two sets of negotiations are not dependant on each other.
The Scottish Government is ultimately responsible for the college sector – it funds it through the Scottish Funding Council and it sets policy direction. The Scottish Government promised national collective bargaining and common terms and conditions.
The Scottish Government must intervene to ensure that Colleges Scotland “honours the deal” it signed up to.
Support us to build a fair college sector with well qualified staff that are fairly paid and fairly treated by colleges to deliver the best possible service to students and communities.
The EIS has launched an online petition in support of our further education members. Please show your support by signing online here.
Yours sincerely
Larry Flanagan
EIS General Secretary
