Ayrshire College staff to walk out next week in strike over pay

dailyrecord.co.uk:

College support staff are set to strike next week in a dispute over pay, terms, and conditions.More than 2000 support staff in colleges across the country - including Ayrshire College- are to walk out on September 7, says UNISON.The union claimed that although college employers have increased their offer from two per cent to £3,500 flat rate payment over two years, this comes with a real threat of compulsory redundancies of college support staff.Those set to down tools next week include librarians, IT specialists, technicians, administrative and business support staff, cleaners, canteen workers and estate management staff.The national strike day will be followed by a rolling programme of dates for localised action in colleges across the country, with dates for further local strikes to be announced in the coming days.Staff who belong to UNISON voted overwhelmingly to strike in April, with 93 per cent of a 62 per cent turnout voting in favour of industrial action.Colleges where UNISON has a mandate to take strike action are: City of Glasgow College, Edinburgh College, Fife College, Glasgow Clyde College, West College Scotland, North East Scotland College, Glasgow Kelvin College, Ayrshire College, Dundee & Angus College, New College Lanarkshire, UHI Argyll, UHI Moray, UHI Perth, UHI Inverness, Borders College, Dumfries & Galloway College, South Lanarkshire College, West Lothian College, Forth Valley College, and Newbattle Abbey College.Chris Greenshields, UNISON further education branch secretary, said: “College staff were due this pay increase a year ago.

It’s unacceptable, even by the standards of the college sector, to take this long to agree a pay deal. The employers’ idea of a resolution to the crisis is to threaten