Scotland’s college lecturers have begun industrial action by refusing to enter student marks into recording systems and working to rule as part of a battle for higher wages.
Members of the EIS-Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-Fela) across Scotland’s 26 colleges started their action short of strike on Tuesday after its members backed the move last month.
Andrea Bradley, EIS general secretary, warned: “College leaders and the Scottish Government now only have a short window of opportunity to avoid significant disruption that would mean students not being able to progress due to assessment results not being entered into college systems.
“Despite the months of warnings that this industrial action would be undertaken, college employers have still failed to produce a pay offer that is acceptable amidst a cost-of-living crisis and the Scottish Government has failed to pay any attention to this dispute.”
Gavin Donoghue, director of College Employers Scotland, said it was “deeply disappointing” the union had started the action and it would have a “a serious impact on college students at a crucial time in their courses”.
As part of the industrial action affecting the more than 300,000 college students north of the border, union members will still mark work but not enter it into recording systems.
And the work to rule action will mean, the union said, that college lecturers no longer carry out duties beyond those stated in their contract, including their working hours.
EIS-Fela warned if the action failed to see the colleges come back with an offer they felt was suitable, they could raise the stakes and strike at the start of the academic year in August.
On 14 April, the union revealed that some 78% of members who voted in its ballot backed a walkout, while 94% backed action short of strike. There was a 53% turnout.
Since then, College Employers Scotland upped their proposal to offer a “two-year pay deal of 3.5% in 2022/23 and 3.5% in 2023/24, providing a 7% cumulative pay rise across both years”.
Donoghue said: “This improved offer comes at considerable cost to colleges - almost £24m over both years - at a time when they are receiving flat cash funding from the Scottish Government and with other costs increasing rapidly.
“College employers will do everything they can to minimise the effect of industrial action, including action short of strike.
“We will also be seeking to meet the EIS-Fela again as soon as possible to reach an agreement on pay so colleges can continue delivering the world-class learning experience our students rightly expect and deserve.
“Importantly, employers have also sought, and will continue to seek, meetings with the Scottish Government to request additional funding for staff pay deals.”
EIS-Fela has asked for a £5,000 rise for its members.
On Tuesday, Anne Marie Harley, EIS-Fela president, said that “college lecturers deserve a fair pay award in line with other public sector workers”.
“College leaders must now call publicly for increased funding for Scotland’s further education sector in the way that EIS-Fela have been doing since last year,” she said.
“Passing on cuts is a dereliction of leadership, the Scottish Government must also step up and intervene to ensure that college lecturers receive fair pay and the FE sector receives adequate levels of funding.
“The managed decline of Scotland’s colleges must end.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “It is for the college unions and the employers to negotiate pay and terms and conditions voluntarily, in the spirit of collaboration and co-operation.
“The Scottish Government is not directly involved in the national collective bargaining process.
“It is important that unions and college employers continue to hold talks to avoid any potential industrial action and subsequent disruption to learners.
“We expect management and unions to make every effort to reach a settlement that is fair and affordable.”
Meanwhile, college and university bosses in Scotland have been left “extremely disappointed” by a Scottish Government u-turn which will see £46m axed from their budget this year.
The money, which had been previously promised to institutions as part of the 2023-24 budget, has now been “identified as a necessary saving”, MSPs on Holyrood’s Education Committee were told.
Convener Graeme Dey advised the committee that Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth had written to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to advise it of the change “with regret”.
But the withdrawal of the cash - which amounts to a loss of £20m for universities and £26m for colleges - prompted a furious reaction from college and university leaders and opposition politicians at Holyrood.
Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, the convener of Universities Scotland - which represents the country’s 19 higher education institutions - said they were “extremely disappointed by the Scottish Government’s decision to cut the funding promised to higher education”.
She said the additional £20m for universities had been “far from what was required” but had been a “welcome step in the right direction”.
Prof Mapstone added it was “dismaying” to see higher education “being de-prioritised by the Scottish Government”.
She said: “The Scottish Government needs a plan for universities, staff and students; it cannot keep expecting to have world-class universities on the cheap.”
Shona Struthers, the chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said they were “deeply disappointed and dismayed by this u-turn from the Scottish Government”.
Speaking about the funding decision, Struthers added: “Removing the equivalent of £1m from each college is completely inexplicable.
“Colleges are already cash strapped, making cuts to courses and winding down parts of their offer due to a lack of funding, not a lack of ambition from colleges or demand from students or employers.”
Complaining that “promised money has now been withdrawn”, she added: “Ministers are relying on colleges to provide hundreds of thousands of students with training and education each year but with less and less funding. It simply can’t be done any more.
“Colleges are needed more than ever to mitigate poverty in communities across the country, provide life-changing opportunities for people, and create the future workforce which will tackle the climate emergency.
“Removing funding previously planned for colleges is the wrong approach in delivering any of these ambitions.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said that in the “most challenging financial environment since devolution” there were “very difficult decisions” that had had to be made.
“The Scottish Government continues to spend nearly £2bn a year on Scotland’s universities and colleges through the SFC alone.
“Research and innovation funding for universities has increased, with additional funding allocated for high priority maintenance across college estates.”
But Scottish Conservative education spokesman Stephen Kerr accused ministers of a “total betrayal of our education sector”.
He said: “Millions in funding that had been earmarked for our college and university sectors has now been brutally snatched away from them by the SNP.
“At a time when our colleges and universities are already under severe financial pressure, losing this money that they will have budgeted for the year ahead is a hammer blow to them.”
Labour's education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “This is a complete betrayal of Scottish students and staff who work in education here.”
She added: “Jenny Gilruth has followed in the footsteps of her predecessor Shirley-Anne Somerville and left Scotland’s colleges and universities high and dry.”
Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie said: “This is no way to run a government and no way to educate young people.”
Rennie said colleges and universities had already had to make tough decisions on their own budgets, and added: “This further cut won’t help them educate more people and ready them for our economy, which is desperate for skilled and educated workers.”
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