Universities again appeal to lecturers to end their wage strike

Scottish universities are making a renewed appeal to lecturers to end a long-standing pay strike.

The dispute revolves around the salary increase for lecturers in 2022.

Members of the EIS FELA union went on strike for four days each week last month.

Universities claim that support for the strike is waning as the number of lecturers participating in the action is also declining.

The union said it had signalled its willingness to negotiate, “but there was no counter-reaction from the employers”.

It is currently conducting a new vote of its members to obtain a mandate to continue the measures after the summer break.

But the universities claim that the dispute is now actually about the salary increase that lecturers will receive in 2025, and not about what they would be entitled to now if the dispute were settled.

EIS FELA also expresses concern that universities may have to cut jobs or reduce their services in order to finance current offerings.

Gavin Donoghue, director of College Employers Scotland, said people were “rightly confused and frustrated that EIS-FELA is choosing to jeopardise students’ futures through industrial action in June 2024”.

He added: “Employers want to get pay rises into lecturers’ pockets as soon as possible, especially now that the summer holidays are approaching.

“The quickest way to achieve this is for EIS-FELA to have its members vote on the fair and substantial salary offer that is on the table.

“It is clear that the vast majority of Scottish university lecturers have little enthusiasm for strike action. Therefore, employers are calling on the union to suspend all industrial action, including the resulting boycott, pending a vote by their members.”

Four-year wage claim

The salary offer provides a total salary increase of £5,000 for lecturers – this covers the salary offers for 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. Lecturers are now also being offered a 3% salary increase in the 2025-26 academic year.

The EIS FELA union recently submitted a wage demand for the next four years, which includes a three-year amount of £5,000.

The universities emphasize that the number of striking lecturers has decreased. Last September, 47 percent took part in a nationwide strike, but last Friday only 25 percent went on strike.

The union said the latest round of talks with university management had stalled, “although EIS-FELA has further reduced its entitlement for the fourth year.”

Garry Ross, union national representative for further education, said: “College operators have stressed that they cannot expand their current provision without assurances from the Scottish Government that they will receive funding to do so.”

“The fourth year of our claim was initiated to break the impasse between both sides and was welcomed by the Scottish Government, which thanked EIS-FELA for initiating this process.

“Nevertheless, we now seem to be in the same situation as when we discussed a three-year contract.”

The Scottish Government has previously told universities that it will not provide them with additional money for salary agreements.