College lecturers in Scotland accept pay deal to end 'long and difficult' dispute

College lecturers have “overwhelmingly” voted to accept an improved pay deal, Scotland’s biggest teaching union has said.

Strike dates from August 20-22 and 27-30 were suspended last week after progress was made during a series of talks regarding pay.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) also recommended its members accept the improved offer.

The union has now announced that after opening the indicative ballot one week ago, 95% of lecturers voting in the ballot have voted in favour of accepting a 4.14% pay rise from College Employers Scotland (CES) – with only 5% voting to reject.

Turnout in the ballot was 84%.

Scotland

Teaching union recommends college lecturers accept latest pay offer

The Scottish Government said it committed to an additional £4.5m in funding in conjunction with the offer.

The pay award delivers a starting salary for lecturers of nearly £42,000 from September 2025, with the average lecturer salary increasing to more than £50,000.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said, “Our members in the Further Education sector have delivered a very clear ballot result today, voting overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the improved pay offer from college employers.

“The offer delivers pay certainty and stability for our members for this year and next, together with backdated pay settlements for the past two years.

“Additionally, there is an obligation on college employers to repay any salary that was ‘deemed’, that is to say deducted, from lecturers engaged in action short of strike during this dispute. The agreement also includes assurances in relation to no compulsory redundancies as a result of this deal.”

It comes in addition to the employers’ full and final offer of a £5,000 pay increase across the preceding three academic years – with the Scottish Government providing an additional £4.5m in funding for an increased lecturer pay award from 2025 to 2026.

The agreement follows a two-year long dispute and will honour the outstanding pay claims for years 2022/2023, and 2023-2024, plus a pay settlement for the current year, 2024/2025, and next year, 2025/2026.

Ms Bradley said the dispute could have been resolved sooner, saying employers could have treated the situation with more “urgency” and that the Scottish Government could have offered to help.

She continued: “This has been a very long and difficult campaign, with EIS-FELA members forced to engage in a long-running programme of industrial action to secure a fair pay settlement from college employers and assurance that this will not come at the cost of jobs. It is by standing together, through their union, that our members have achieved success in the campaign for a fair pay settlement from college employers.

“This dispute really did not have to go on for as long as it did, as colleges could have shown far more urgency in delivering a fair offer and the Scottish Government could have stepped in earlier to facilitate an improved settlement with the injection of additional funding, and, importantly, taking a firm stance against deeming.”

“With this ballot result, the EIS has now suspended all industrial action across Scotland pending the expected ratification of the NJNC Pay Agreement early next week.

“The EIS expects employers to take urgent action to deliver their parts of the expected agreement, including to ensure that all money withheld via ‘deeming’ of lecturers’ salaries is repaid to our members as soon as possible. EIS FELA members look forward to rebuilding and improving Further Education and hope that employers will join us on that journey.”

The union has now suspended all industrial action across Scotland, including a resulting boycott, pending the expected ratification of the agreement early next week.

Gavin Donoghue, director of college employers Scotland, said: “Employers are pleased to see the EIS-FELA’s members overwhelming acceptance of this substantial pay offer, and the end of this long-running industrial dispute.

“This pay award delivers a starting salary for lecturers of nearly £42,000 from September 2025, with the average lecturer salary increasing to more than £50,000. This means that lecturers in Scotland will continue to enjoy the best pay and conditions of any college lecturers across the UK.

“The goal of employers throughout the current dispute has been to secure a pay settlement that is fair and affordable, while protecting the interests of students. Now that all industrial action is suspended, it is imperative that any boycotted student results are entered into college systems without delay.

“With industrial action now at an end, colleges hope to be able to fully concentrate on providing the world-class educational experience their students deserve.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.