THE umbrella organisation for the college sector in Scotland says it has reached a public sector pay cap-busting pay deal affecting thousands of thousands of further education support staff.
Colleges Scotland said it was "pleased to announced" that support staff have accepted the pay offer that would mean they would get a flat rate £425 pay rise from April 1, plus an additional five days annual leave.
The Unison Scotland union said that the proposal broke the government's one percent pay cap int the public sector.
Last year staff at colleges went on strike after claiming they were being treated as "second class citizens" after being offered a flat rate pay rise of £230 compared to £450 for teaching staff. Lecturers went on strike for a day in March last year which led to the £450 settlement.
The final pay position was put to unions in June and Unison Scotland recommended the deal to its members.
Chris Greenshields of Unison Scotland said when the deal was first suggested: “This proposal breaks the Government’s one percent pay cap in the public sector, but it is still not overly generous given inflation at 2.8 percent and recent trends.
"Public Sector workers’ pay has been held back for years. Whilst in Scottish colleges this is the third of three decent settlements in 2015, 2016 and this year, pay has still not kept up with prices.
"The Scottish Government needs to seriously review its position across the board of pay bargaining...and fair pay re-introduced across the Scottish public sector for 2018 settlements."
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