College professors have threatened to intensify their current industrial action if “definitive action” is not done to provide a just and fully financed salary award.
The EIS Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-Fela) asserts that substantial employment losses in the college sector would be required to finance the current offer.
Next week, in conjunction with the first First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) resuming the summer break, they will take action with a demonstration in front of the Scottish Parliament.
The union issues a warning, stating that in the absence of a “acceptable and fully funded offer,” the membership will intensify industrial action, threatening national and rolling strikes in addition to the local strikes already taking place in the districts of important Scottish Government ministers.
Lecturers believe they are still waiting for a just resolution to their salary dispute from last year.
Learn More
The EIS’s general secretary, Andrea Bradley, warned that time was running out to prevent any further escalation of labor unrest.
“No group of employees, least of all those employed by institutions in the public sector, should be told by their employers that they must give up their jobs in order to finance an already unacceptably low pay offer,” she said.
The Scottish Government must be fully funded for any appropriate wage award, and College Employers Scotland has not yet provided proof of this.To avoid this situation, the Scottish Government must also put an end to its intransigence and make sure that no salary offer to deserving college instructors is paid for by job losses.
“EIS-FELA members are ready to engage in significant strike action in addition to non-strike related activity in order to achieve a fully funded and equitable pay award. They act in full support of them from the EIS.
The president of EIS-Fela, Anne-Marie Harley, stated: “College lecturers should have received a fair pay award a year ago and have been forced into the unacceptable situation of escalating their industrial action to a broad-based program of strike action, including targeted strike action in the constituencies of Scottish Government ministers.
“We do this in conjunction with a re-ballot of our members to make certain that we can continue this battle for fair wages for however long it takes. The Scottish Government and College Employers Scotland must move quickly to prevent strike action by offering a fully funded, fair pay award for college lecturers that does not result in job losses. EIS-FELA will never sacrifice jobs for pay.
Share on Facebook «||» Share on Twitter «||» Share on Reddit «||» Share on LinkedIn