Update on strike action
Planned strike action for Tuesday 10 May and Wednesday 11 May has been cancelled. Some lecturers will be on strike on Thursday 12 May.
The college is working hard to support you and minimise disruption to your learning.
How will this affect my college, university or job offer?
If you are planning to complete your course with us and move onto university or into work, we are working with our university partners and employers to ensure they understand any implications of the current action and help secure your successful progression.
If you are planning to continue your studies with our college, your place will be secure.
If you have any concerns or questions then in the first instance raise these with the learning and skills managers in your faculty. These are:
- Access, Employability and Schools – JBegbie@west-lothian.ac.uk
- Business, Creative and Enterprise - lbain@west-lothian.ac.uk, LWalker@west-lothian.ac.uk or CNasseri@west-lothian.ac.uk
- Care, Health and Sport - AMiller@west-lothian.ac.uk or astyles@west-lothian.ac.uk
- Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment - amoore@west-lothian.ac.uk or smorrison@west-lothian.ac.uk
What about my funding and attendance?
All student absences as a result of strike days will be authorised and your funding will not be affected.
The college will be open on all strike days, both on campus and online. We don’t know which lecturers will take part in strike action and it is possible that your lecturer may not be available on these days to teach your class.
If your class is cancelled we will contact you directly by email to let you know. Other college staff will be on campus and online to support you. The Learning Centre, Campus Cafe and all student services will be open.
We’re here to help
If you have any questions about your class, you can speak to your learning and skills manager from your faculty (contact details above).
You can access our support services on campus or by contacting:
- Student support - supportlearning@west-lothian.ac.uk
- Student funding - bursaries@west-lothian.ac.uk
- Student Association - StudentAssociation@west-lothian.ac.uk
Future strike dates
Future planned strike dates are:
- Tuesday 17 May, Wednesday 18 May, Thursday 19 May
- Tuesday 24 May, Wednesday 25 May, Thursday 26 May
We will update you each week with further details if strike action continues on these dates.
What is the strike about?
Lecturer pay increases are decided at a national level and what is agreed affects all colleges. This year’s pay rise needs to be paid from the existing funding that colleges have for the year August 2021 to July 2022.
College employers have improved the offer to lecturers who have now been offered a pay award of £1,050 for this year. This is made up of a £900 pay rise PLUS a one-off payment of £150 in recognition of the work they have done to support students during the pandemic.
The lecturers’ trade union, the EIS (Educational Institute for Scotland), is arguing for more. However, what has been offered already exceeds the funding available to colleges. The offer made to lecturers is better than what many other public sector workers have accepted, eg school teachers, police officers and the fire service.
Rising inflation and increases in the cost of living are problems for everyone. Unfortunately, the funding for colleges this year is not enough to keep up with the rising cost of living, and the pay offer made to lecturers is the best possible in these difficult times.
Further information
We are really sorry for any inconvenience or upset caused by the strike action.
If you have any questions about the strike please email execadministration@west-lothian.ac.uk