Update on Strike

College

Please note the planned strike action scheduled to take place on Wednesday June 1st has been suspended meaning classes will go ahead as normal.

 

Please keep checking back for updates on any future action

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:

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: 

Future strike dates 

Future planned strike dates are:

  • Wednesday 01 June 2022

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