TEACHING will be suspended at Forth Valley College in Alloa this Wednesday, amid national industrial action launched by lecturers over pay.

There are no classes being delivered as the result of a sector-wide dispute between the Educational Institute of Scotland – Further Education Lecturers' Association (EIS-FELA) union and Colleges Scotland.

According to the EIS-FELA executive committee, the dispute is about a "cost of living pay increase and ensuring that lecturers' pay keeps up with inflation".

Further strike dates have also been proposed, including for February 5, March 6 and March 21.

Locally, the college said that with a number of lecturers planning to attend the picket lines, and following a review of options, senior management decided to close the doors for the day as "the college was unlikely to be able to offer a full service".

Principal Dr Ken Thomson said the decision had been made "in the best interest" of FVC students.

Dr Thomson added: "As always our focus is on ensuring we continue to deliver the highest quality learning experiences for our students whilst a resolution is found for this dispute.

"The college has a robust communications plan in place which will ensure all our key stakeholders including staff and students are fully informed in regards to developments."

Complex in nature, the dispute started in December 2017, but can be linked to industrial action in 2016.

The focus was on equal pay back then with some receiving uplifts in pay in 2017 and 2018 as part of salary harmonisations.

The Colleges Scotland Employers' Association (CSEA) says a combined pay offer, on average, would increase lecturers' salaries by 12 per cent over three years – from £36,125 in April 2016 to £40,522 in April 2019.

The union argues the current offer is for a 2.5 per cent consolidated increase over three years and "will result in a real terms pay cut and imposes a pay cap on Scottish FE lecturers at a time when the Scottish Government is lifting the cap for the rest of the public sector".

The EIS-FELA executive committee also says that there are only unconsolidated payments for 2017 and 2018 for some, but not all, members.

Ultimately, EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: "College management has repeatedly misused the March 2016 NJNC agreement on equal pay as justification for making an inferior cost of living pay offer to lecturers."

On the other hand, John Gribben, director of employment services at CSEA, said: "At the heart of this dispute, is that the EIS-FELA will not accept that the pay increases from National Bargaining are increases in pay.

"They also want more pay for cost of living. The employers' view is that a pay rise is a pay rise, irrespective of where it comes from, and the EIS-FELA has rejected a combined pay offer which would increase lecturers' pay on average by more than 12 per cent over three years – this is the best pay offer anywhere across Scotland's public services."