Lecturers accept a pay deal as Falkirk colleagues vote on strike ballot over new roles

The offer, based on a 2 per cent consolidated pay increase for all lecturers, received backing from 97 per cent of EIS-FELA members in a ballot.

The acceptance of the pay offer comes as EIS members at Forth Valley College (FVC) are balloting for industrial action after the college made 30 lecturers’ posts “redundant” to replace them with new “instructor assessor” posts.

According to the EIS, the new posts are lower paid, with more class contact hours, little or no preparation time and reduced annual leave.

The EIS believes with these proposals the college is “looking for a cheaper way to deliver lecturers’ work”.

FVC management said any strike action would be “an attack on learners”.

Commenting on the two per cent pay deal, an EIS spokesperson said, “The EIS welcomes this pay settlement which, while it did not fully meet our pay claim, has been endorsed in a ballot by our membership. Our members continue to do all that they can to support learners in colleges across Scotland – a vital role which

has become even more challenging as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

“In recent years, Scotland’s FE lecturers have been required to take several rounds of industrial action – initially to secure a fair national pay agreement for all and, subsequently, to compel college employers to honour the deal they had already agreed to.

“It’s a positive development industrial action was not necessary to secure an acceptable pay offer from the employers this year.”