“At today’s meeting, college employers showed a willingness to improve their pay offer to a two-year pay deal of 3.5% in 2022/23 and 3.5% in 2023/24, providing a 7% cumulative pay rise across both years.

 

“However, this improved offer to lecturers comes at considerable cost to colleges – almost £24 million over both years - at a time when they are receiving flat cash funding from the Scottish Government and with other costs increasing significantly.

 

“College employers want to avoid industrial action which would impact our students at a crucial time in their courses. We would, therefore, have hoped to see a counteroffer from the EIS-FELA that might avert the planned launch of action short of strike (ASOS) from 2 May.

 

“We will be seeking to meet the EIS-FELA again as soon as possible to reach an agreement on pay so colleges can continue delivering the world-class learning experience our students rightly expect and deserve.”