Scotland’s college workers strike over low pay

Matt Dobson

College lecturers in Scotland who are member of the EIS-FELA union have embarked on 14 days of strikes across Scotland during April and May. 

There have been three strike days so far, on April 20 and April 25/26. Pickets have taken place at college campuses across Scotland. 

This strike has arisen after protracted negotiations following the submission of the June 2021 pay claim. EIS-FELA reduced their pay demand to a flat rate award of £1300 from the original £2000. College Employers Scotland, refused to budge. The EIS-FELA membership rightly rejected  the original ‘final’ offer of £850, flat rated, with an £150, one off, ‘thank you payment. 

EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said college lecturers had gone “above and beyond” for students during the Covid-19 pandemic, delivering “high standards of teaching and learning”.

“They have done this despite an EIS survey showing EIS-FELA members experiencing rising levels of stress and workload, while many college lecturers have received no wellbeing check in from their employers,” he said.

When the union announced the ballot results earlier this month, Larry Flanagan said “words of gratitude” and a pay offer that “does not begin to address the pressures on the cost of living” were not enough.

Unison

Meanwhile, UNISON Scotland has now formally notified college principals of its intention to ballot college support staff for industrial action on pay after 92% of staff rejected the employers’ final pay offer in a consultation.

The official ballot will open on Wednesday 27 April. It will be the first national strike vote in further education for six years. 

The employers’ final offer is £850, with a £150 one-off payment. With inflation reaching thirty-year high this offer would constitute a significant real-terms pay cut. 

If UNISON members vote yes to strike action, and employers do not offer a fair pay rise, all grades of staff in Scotland’s colleges will take industrial action across Scotland’s colleges before the end of this term.

Chris Greenshields, branch secretary of UNISON Scotland Further Education Branch said: “The college employers’ approach is staggering. All unions in the college sector are now in dispute on pay. Staff deserved a pay rise to meet inflation by September 2021 and the employers are now 7 months late. Despite a couple of hours of informal talks there has been little progress. This is immensely frustrating and questions the employers’ desire to resolve this dispute. Our members need a proper pay rise now. Support staff in colleges are struggling with record rising cost of living and the least they should expect is some more urgency from the employers to address this.”

Socialist Party Scotland and the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition gives full solidarity to college workers and their trade unions. We demand College Employers Scotland and behind them the SNP/ Green government comes up with an above inflation pay offer for all college workers. 

Student Associations and unions need to build solidarity and call for students to walk out in solidarity with college staff. 

College Employers are pleading poverty despite large salaries paid to principals. There is also underfunding by the Scottish government with the sector in deficit by £5.7 million and coming autumn cuts of £51.9 million. 

This is after decades of cuts and underfunding, with the SNP and Greens managing and passing on Tory austerity rather than fighting back, setting no cuts budgets and demanding the funding for public services that is needed. 

coordinated action on pay

It’s an urgent task for the TUC/STUC to build coordinated strike action to boost pay against the backdrop of a massive inflationary spiral. Trade unions  must also cut across the lie that workers’ pay rises will add to inflation. In reality, it’s the rising cost of food, energy and transport that is responsible. In other words the capitalist market itself. 

That’s why the trade unions need to lead a mass  struggle. To demand pay and benefit rises that at least match the real inflation levels. And to fight for the nationalisation of the energy companies under workers’ control, as part of rapid transition to a socialist planned economy. That will also require the launching of a new working-class party to fight for the socialist change needed.

As well as the strength of the trade unions being used to build a mass movement to fight back, as the second equal pay victory in Glasgow has underlined militant trade union struggle can win victories, it’s also vitally important to build serious opposition at the ballot box.

Socialist Party Scotland members are standing as part of Scottish TUSC in May in the local elections to ensure there is opposition to austerity in local government.