Colleges strike days set
EIS names 32 strike days in pay row
Further Education college lecturers across Scotland are to embark on a programme of 32 strikes in a row about pay.
It follows a ballot for industrial action by members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS).
The first strike date is next Thursday 17th March.
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said, “These are overwhelming ballot results, which clearly demonstrate the depth of frustration that lecturers are feeling over the lack of progress towards equal pay. Lecturers were promised a return to national bargaining, and clear steps to deliver equal pay in all colleges across the country. In reality neither of these promises has been delivered and lecturers feel angry and betrayed. These feelings have been reinforced by colleges abandoning the negotiations and imposing a pay uplift, while other colleges have refused to take part in negotiations at all. These emphatic votes for strike action are the result of broken promises that were made to lecturers.”
Planned programme of industrial action Thursday 17 March Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 March Tuesday 12 and Thursday 14 April Tuesday 19 Weds 20 April and Thursday 21 April Tuesday 26 Weds 27 April and Thursday 28 April Tuesday 3 Wed 4 May and Thursday 5 May Tuesday 10 May Weds 11 May and Thursday 12 May Tuesday 17 May Weds 18 May and Thursday 19 May Tuesday 24 May Weds 25 May and Thursday 26 May Tuesday 31 May Weds 1 June and Thursday 2 June Tuesday 7 June Weds June 8 and Thursday 9 June Tuesday 14 June Weds 15 June and Thursday 16 June Tuesday 21 June Weds 22 June and Thursday 23 June Tuesday 28 June Weds 29 June and Thursday 30 June
Lecturers at the following colleges were balloted in the national strike ballot: Ayrshire Borders Dumfries & Galloway Dundee & Angus Edinburgh Fife Forth Valley Inverness Lews Castle Moray NESCol New College Lanarkshire Perth South Lanarkshire West College Scotland West Lothian In a separate development, individual strike ballots at three Glasgow colleges that have refused to sign up for the national bargaining process, have also returned overwhelming results in favour of strike action.
Lecturers at City of Glasgow College voted 99% in favour of a strike, on a 68% turnout. At Glasgow Clyde, lecturers voted 92% in favour, on a 68% turnout. And, at Glasgow Kelvin, lecturers voted 95% in favour, on a 61% turnout.
While the individual disputes at each college are separate and distinct from the national dispute, the programmes of action will follow the same timetable in each case.