Battle over pay and conditions

- The EIS has demanded that the Scottish government re-establish national bargaining for college lecturers’ pay and conditions, in line with its manifesto commitment and the Griggs review. General secretary Larry Flanagan said: “It is disappointing that no real progress has been made”. Education secretary Michael Russell said: “I have been clear that there should be a system of national bargaining for colleges, and I believe there is a growing body of opinion which questions the need for about 40 different sets of terms and conditions.”

More Scots in local universities

- There has been a 1 per cent increase in Scots accepted to study at Scottish universities, according to figures from Ucas, the body that processes applications. The rise of 287 follows figures showing a record number of people accepted into Scottish higher education overall. Education secretary Michael Russell contrasted this with acceptances falling in England by 26,273, or 7 per cent, which he attributed to the trebling of tuition fees south of the border.

Commission’s new members

- The UK Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission has announced the names of its members, including Save the Children’s head of Scotland, Douglas Hamilton. Eight people from academia, politics, business, child welfare and social mobility have been appointed to support chairman Alan Milburn. Mr Hamilton has been appointed by the Scottish government to represent Scotland.

Compensation at an all-time high

- EIS figures show that at #163;1.35 million, compensation for members in 2012 for work-related injuries was at an all-time high. It could not reveal details of the highest payout, but others included #163;81,000 for a teacher who “suffered many violent incidents involving a child with special needs”. General secretary Larry Flanagan said employers had “a great deal of work to do” to improve the safety of schools, colleges and universities.

Union surveys car park injuries

- The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association is conducting a survey of local authority and independent schools’ acceptance of liability for injuries sustained in untreated school car parks. The union is concerned by an “alarming” number of cases. Acting general secretary Alan McKenzie said: “It is not helpful to our members or to the taxpayers to respond ‘See you in court’, as some employers have already done.”