“It’s very regrettable”: Glasgow college lecturers strike again
College lecturers across Glasgow were on the picket line today in an ongoing dispute over pay.
Members of EIS-Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) have been taking action since the middle of February, and have already taken a number of days of national strike action.
However, for a lot of members of the union, the amount of money offered in the second year of this offer sits below current public sector pay policy.
The current offer from College Employers Scotland is £5,000 over three years.
Thora Hands, social sciences lecturer at City of Glasgow College, said: “Other public sector employees like NHS staff and teachers have had a much higher pay uplift.
“So colleges being part of the public sector, it’s really important that we get a fair pay award.”
She added that students have been impacted by the cuts to funding for colleges.
City of Glasgow College have cut courses, student cohorts teaching time, learning support and staff redundancies
Gavin Donoghue, director of college employers Scotland believes that the proposed pay rises are substantial.
He said: “Based on the first two years of the offer, an average lecturer earning £43,357 in 2021/22 would now be £1,465 better off than under public sector pay guidelines.
“The quickest way to resolve this dispute is for the EIS-FELA to cancel their escalation of strike action and formally ballot their members on the employers’ full and final three-year pay offer.”
There are further strikes planned in the last two weeks of May and early June.
