Minister urges striking unions and college bosses to get back round the table

The Scottish Government has no cash to intervene in a bid to resolve strike action in the country’s colleges, the further education minister has warned.

Further education minister Graeme Dey, instead, urged colleges employers and the unions taking industrial action to get back round the table, as he said he was “really concerned” about the impact the dispute would have on students.

His comments came as the wing of the EIS teaching union which represents college lecturers staged a national day of strike action.

As well as this protest by the EIS – Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-Fela), about 2,000 support staff in the Unison trade union at 21 colleges also took part in action.

Striking staff took to picket lines outside colleges and also gathered at a rally outside the Scottish Parliament.

It comes as EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said college lecturers had not received a pay rise since  August 2021.

She said: “During this period, the country has endured a crippling cost-of-living crisis, with soaring prices for essentials such as food and clothing, heating and housing.

“Yet, the only offers to have come from college employers are sub-inflation and represent a real-terms pay cut for Scotland’s hard-working college lecturers.”

College Employers Scotland (CES), said it was “deeply regrettable” that students were having their learning disrupted, as it vowed the strike action would not lead to an improved pay offer.

It has offered a £5,000 consolidated pay rise for all college staff over three academic years.

Asked about the strike action in Holyrood, Mr Dey told MSPs: “I remain concerned by the impact this period of industrial action will have on our students. That is why I am encouraging both sides to come to a resolution.”

He stressed it was for the college unions and the employers – and not the Scottish Government – to negotiate on pay and terms and conditions.

But Mr Dey said that an agreement had been reached with two other unions, Unite and the GMB, as he said he would work with college employers and those unions taking action “where appropriate, in the hope that they can reach a settlement that is fair and affordable”.

He also said it had been “deeply disappointing” to discover on Wednesday that no further talks are planned, despite the strike.

Mr Dey said: “I remain concerned by the impact this period of industrial action will have on our students.

“That is why I am encouraging both sides to come to a resolution.”

But he stated: “It is deeply regrettable that students are, once again, facing disruption to their learning due to industrial action taken by the EIS-Fela and Unison.

“Today’s strike and other industrial action, like the resulting boycott, will not lead to an improved pay offer to trade unions. Colleges simply cannot offer to give what they do not have, especially when  Government funding is set to fall by nearly 5% in 2024-25.”

He continued: “Despite unprecedented financial pressures, colleges have put forward a substantial pay offer which, if accepted by trade unions, would keep college lecturers in Scotland as the UK’s best paid.

“For support staff, the same offer would mean an average pay rise of nearly 16% from September this year.

“The employers’ full and final pay offer has already been overwhelmingly accepted by Unite and GMB members.

“We urge EIS-Fela and Unison to cancel their industrial action and follow the example of their fellow trade unions by putting the pay offer to their members in a ballot.”