NESCOL and UHI Moray staff set for strike action
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More than 2000 support staff, including librarians, IT specialists, administrators, cleaners, canteen workers and estate management staff, at 21 colleges in Scotland including NESCOL and UHI Moray are to strike later this month in a row over pay and jobs, says UNISON.
Staff say they are still waiting for a pay rise that was due in September 2022 and want colleges to guarantee any pay rises won't be at the expense of jobs.
The college workers are due to walk out on Thursday, February 29 as part of the dispute that has been running for 18 months.
Last December, they voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action to continue their campaign for fair pay and to protect jobs.
The union says college leaders must make an improved pay offer and guarantee there will no compulsory redundancies if they want to avoid further disruption.
UNISON Scotland’s further education branch secretary Chris Greenshields said: “College support staff deserve a fair pay rise without the threat of compulsory redundancies.
“Nobody wants to be on strike, but staff have been left with little choice. The union submitted a revised proposal to try and move things along back in December and it took college bosses two months to reject it.”
Chair of UNISON Scotland further education committee Collette Bradley said: “Further education in Scotland is in chaos. It's time for ministers to step and get this dispute sorted. College staff have not had a pay rise for 18 months, which is completely unacceptable in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
“Employees are simply demanding fair pay and no compulsory redundancies. If colleges want to avoid further disruption, they need to start taking those demands seriously.”
