EIS-FELA members are set to be balloted over yet another national dispute with Colleges Scotland. This particular dispute involves colleges again refusing to honour deals and agreements which have been signed, sealed and which they continue to fail to deliver.

College lecturers and colleges across Scotland are party to national agreements and in particular to a National Working Practices Agreement (NWPA). The NWPA sets out the national terms and conditions for staff teaching in colleges including duties and pay across Scotland’s colleges. Some colleges have failed to honour these agreements and the Employers’ Association for Colleges (Colleges Scotland) have declared that this is likely to be rolled out further across the sector.

FELA National Representatives have sought to resolve the dispute at a series of meetings with Colleges Scotland, however, as we go to press no agreement has been reached and in colleges such as Forth Valley College, managers continue to press ahead with steps forcing lecturers on to lower graded instructor posts.

The instructor posts do not have any weekly class contact maximum, with staff in some cases being forced to teach all week with no preparation time at all. Pay levels for these posts are dramatically lower than lecturer pay scales and staff who have been hounded into these posts have reported that they find the work and conditions intolerable. Not only do these posts cause untold damage to the staff delivering via this model, but it is impossible to maintain the highest possible standard of quality learning for our students with no time for preparation or marking. Put simply, the impact of these moves by colleges will be damaging to the health and well-being of staff and will dramatically reduce the quality of provision on offer for students in Scotland’s colleges.

EIS-FELA are not willing to accept regressive action to undermine the pivotal role lecturers play within the further education sector in Scotland. In a recent indicative ballot FELA members sent a clear message to Colleges Scotland that despite a global pandemic they are willing to take strike action if need be, to bring about a resolution of this dispute. The strength of feeling is clear.

FELA members are being urged to ‘Get Out the Vote’ and vote YES in a statutory ballot on strike action which will open on 5th February 2021. The resolution being sought is that staff teaching in colleges be recognised as such and so be covered by the collectively bargained agreements that they have all worked so hard to achieve.

The FELA National Executive is urging all EIS members to support the ‘Get Out the Vote’ campaign during the ballot. The GOTV campaign will focus on branch level activity to ensure the highest possible turnout in the statutory ballot and send another clear message to colleges. Full details of the campaign and materials to support it are available at www.eis.org.uk/FELA/InstructorDispute

Please support the campaign by using the hashtag #CollegesNeedLecturers, sharing @eisfela tweets and sharing and liking messages on Facebook www.facebook.com/honourthedeal