Lecturing staff in Scotland are a key part of the college sector’s success, which is precisely why they are well paid and enjoy excellent terms and conditions of service.

The overall pay increases and improvements in lecturers’ terms and conditions in recent years have been substantial, so it is disappointing that the Educational Institute of Scotland Further Education Lecturers’ Association (EIS-FELA) is striking for the third time in four years.

The union is looking to cherry-pick the best parts of the support-staff deal, but we must look at the overall package for lecturers. Any deal with EIS-FELA must be affordable and sustainable for the sector, but if colleges were to give in to the EIS-FELA’s pay demands, it would mean fewer courses, fewer students and fewer jobs in the college sector, which is in no one’s best interests.

The union is threatening to escalate the strike and, in its official February 2019 newsletter, it has vowed that the “proposed action will involve withholding assessment results - not from the students, but from management systems”.

This is the irresponsible behaviour of an organisation that does not care about how its actions affect students. If it withholds assessments from colleges, it would wreak havoc with students’ chances of moving on to other courses at college or going to university to study.

Lecturers in Scotland have terrific pay, as well as enviable terms and conditions. College lecturers in England are paid approximately £31,000, while the average in Scotland is more than £40,000.

We urge EIS-FELA to call off its unnecessary and disruptive strike action, which is adversely affecting students the most. We will continue to engage and negotiate with EIS-FELA until an agreement is reached, but it must be within an affordable financial envelope.

John Gribben is director of employment services at the Colleges Scotland Employers’ Association