College update: Industrial action scheduled for 25 March

March 24, 2021

EIS-FELA trade union members serving in Scotland’s colleges will begin industrial action tomorrow (25 March).

This is the first of a series of strike days planned for March, April and May. The union represents some of the NESCol lecturers and instructors.

The College remains open for staff and students who are timetabled to be on campus as part of the current blended learning model. Remote delivery for students not due to attend campus will also continue.

The action is the result of a ballot of members in relation to a national dispute over use of trainer assessors within Colleges.

EIS-FELA and the Employers’ Association continue to engage on the matter. The employers, including NESCol, have made it clear there is no intention to replace lecturers with tutor/assessor/instructor roles or any other support staff roles.

NESCol Principal Neil Cowie said: “I must reiterate that very clear commitment within the sector and from NESCol. The trainer assessor role and other roles supporting the learning experience have existed for many years and the current job descriptions are well established. NESCol has not redeployed lecturers into instructor or instructor assessor roles and does not intend to do so.”

Arrangements are in place to minimise disruption to students and any updates on arrangements for classes will be communicated directly.

Neil Cowie added: “We continue to focus on guiding our students, employers and partners through these unprecedented times.”