College Lecturers Demonstrate Over Massive Pay-Offs

Lecturers are also angry at a 1% pay offer.

Lecturers from colleges across Scotland will today stage a demonstration outside the offices of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) in protest at current funding questions in the country’s colleges. Recent high-profile cases of excessively large pay-offs to former Principals and members of senior management have highlighted questions of financial management, transparency and probity across the sector.
 
These financial questions come at a time when members of the Educational Institute of Scotland – Further Education Lecturers' Association (EIS-FELA), look set to embark on a programme of industrial action in pursuit of a fair pay award and a claim for equal pay across the sector. Lecturing and support staff groups each been offered a 1% pay settlement for the year, and both groups have rejected the management offer.
 
John Kelly, EIS-FELA President said: "The main focus of our lobby here today is to highlight the appalling attacks which FE provision in colleges has come under over the past few years.  The SFC has implemented draconian cuts on FE Colleges which have been exacerbated further by light touch regulation.  If the regulation of colleges had been any lighter it would have floated off to meet the Space Station orbiting Earth.  Principals in conjunction with Boards of Management have awarded themselves enormous pay-offs at the same time that we are repeatedly told that there is no money for FE courses.  Colleges have experienced course cuts and job cuts at the same time as reports of £2.4 million being shared among 13 Principals."
 
Mr Kelly added: "We are calling on Angela Constance to inject more money into the sector, however at the same time we are also urging the SFC to switch off the green light which has been shown to Colleges allowing them to spend on a few, at the expense of FE students and staff."
 
The demonstration will commence at 2:30pm on Friday 11 December outside the offices of the Scottish Funding Council, 97 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh.
 
Following the demonstration, a delegation of EIS-FELA office bearers and lay officials plans to meet with Funding Council officers to hand over a letter detailing members' concerns and calling on the Funding Council to take action to address those concerns.