A PAY dispute is rumbling on as Renfrewshire college lecturers walked out for a fourth time in three months yesterday. 

EIS-FELA trade union members are at loggerheads with employers Colleges Scotland as they demand a cost of living pay rise. 

John Kelly, the union’s branch secretary at West College Scotland, which includes the Paisley campus, said: “The picket line was bigger than it has ever been.

READ MORE: College lecturers striking for fourth time urged to reconsider further action

“It’s clear people are getting angrier. They were out in the miserable weather making their voices heard. 

“Unless the employers budge, this will continue. Their position has hardened at the meeting last Monday. They’re now not only refusing a pay rise, they’re wanting to change the conditions of service.

“What we are seeking is a simple cost of living pay rise. We feel this is about more than just money.

“We want a fair cost of living rise in line with public sector pay deals.”

EIS-FELA has turned down what it says is a two per cent pay increase over three years and has urged Colleges Scotland to find a “solution”.

“What they’re offering is two per cent in total over three years,” Mr Kelly added. “We are willing to talk but we don’t think that’s reasonable. 

“Unless there’s a solution, there will be more strike action. There’s no doubt about that and it’s terrible.”

Colleges Scotland has hit back at the union, claiming that support for strike action is “dwindling” with every walkout that takes place across Scotland. 

The latest offer is an £800 unconsolidated payment for years one and two (April 2017 to March 2019).

This will be followed with a consolidated award of public sector pay policy in for year three (April 2019 to March 2020), which will be defined as three per cent for salaries up to £36,500 and two per cent for those above £36,500. 

John Gribben, director of Employment Services at Colleges Scotland Employers’ Association, said: “Support for the EIS-FELA strike action is dwindling. 

“The number of lecturers out on strike has waned with each passing day of action and the 17 per cent drop in support shows that lecturers are voting with their feet in response to the refusal of the EIS-FELA to engage in a two-way process or offer any compromises in the negotiation process.

“The college sector is gravely concerned by the EIS-FELA’s ploy to withhold assessment results if they receive a mandate for action short of strike action, as this will have catastrophic consequences for students. 

“Students would not be able to achieve their qualifications, meaning they would be unable to move on to other courses at college or university, finalise their apprenticeships or move into jobs, and this EIS-FELA ruse is an unacceptable and a reckless gamble with students’ futures.

“Lecturers in Scotland are by far the best paid across the UK, and the EIS-FELA has taken its members out on strike despite national average pay rises from harmonisation and the current offer from colleges equating to more than £5,000 – or more than 12 per cent – over this three-year pay dispute period. 

“The EIS-FELA is yet to formally take any of our offers to their members to see if they would accept or not.

READ MORE: Classes suspended as West College Scotland lecturers get set for strike action

“Lecturers have had significant financial gains and improvements in terms and conditions over the 2017-20 pay period and the EIS-FELA must realise that the current offer from colleges – costing over £10 million – is coming from cuts to college budgets. 

“We urge the EIS-FELA to finally negotiate by engaging in a meaningful two-way process and compromise rather than continuing to demand more pay without offering anything in return.”

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