The Scottish Government has no cash to intervene in a bid to resolve strike action in the country’s colleges, the further education minister has warned.
Further education minister Graeme Dey, instead, urged colleges employers and the unions taking industrial action to get back round the table, as he said he was “really concerned” about the impact the dispute would have on students.
His comments came as the wing of the EIS teaching union which represents college lecturers staged a national day of strike action.
As well as this protest by the EIS – Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-Fela), about 2,000 support staff in the Unison trade union at 21 colleges also took part in action.
Striking staff took to picket lines outside colleges and also gathered at a rally outside the Scottish Parliament.
It comes as EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said college lecturers had not received a pay rise since August 2021.
She said: “During this period, the country has endured a crippling cost-of-living crisis, with soaring prices for essentials such as food and clothing, heating and housing.
“Yet, the only offers to have come from college employers are sub-inflation and represent a real-terms pay cut for Scotland’s hard-working college lecturers.”
