ONE of Scotland most senior trade unionists has been asked to consider his position as chair of a powerful colleges board following a row over executive pay.

The call comes after the Glasgow Colleges Regional Board (GCRB) agreed to implement a 17 per cent rise for executive director Robin Ashton - who would have seen his pay increase from £81,000 to £95,000.

After pressure from the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council and MSPs the GCRB backed down over the issue.

However, three senior office-holders from the EIS-FELA union, which represents college lecturers, said it was "unacceptable" GCRB interim chair Grahame Smith, the general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, had defended the rise.

Writing in The Herald in a personal capacity John Kelly, Pam Currie and Charlie Montgomery, the EIS-FELA national president, vice-president and salaries convener, said questions should be asked about the role of Mr Smith.

"As trade unionists we find it unacceptable that the leader of the STUC seeks to defend an enormous pay hike for a senior executive while thousands of trade union members across colleges are in dispute with management over pay and conditions," the article states.

"In his defence of the decision, Mr Smith uses the word "responsibility", but we feel that he has a responsibility to trade union members across Scotland and would ask him to consider his position on the GCRB and also take a good hard look at his current role as general secretary of the STUC."

However, Mr Smith hit back saying he was happy to discuss his role in the affair with EIS-FELA officials.

He said: "I am more than happy to discuss my views on this matter with the EIS both in my role as the interim chair of GCRB and the general secretary of the STUC, an offer I made last week.

"That offer still stands. A considered conversation on such an important matter deserves better than the perpetuation of inaccuracies and personal attacks conducted through the media, the purpose of which does nothing to help the further education sector, those who work in it and, most important, the students it serves, to all of which I am fully committed."

In the immediate aftermath of the row Mr Smith said that the salary was £25,000 less than it could have been under an evaluation of Mr Ashton’s role and 40 per cent lower than the highest paid college principal.

“It carries huge responsibility with accountability for the allocation of around £100m annually, serving over 50,000 students,” he added.

The regional body was set up to help run the city’s three colleges - City of Glasgow, Clyde and Glasgow Kelvin - following a series of mergers across Scotland.

The situation is unusual because the city has three colleges with their own principals and boards in addition to the regional body.

However, in Lanarkshire, where a similar regional board has been set up to run two colleges, there is no executive director. Instead, a chair leads the region with remuneration capped annually at just over £20,000.

At a meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s public audit committee it was revealed that the GCRB board were told in advance that both the SFC and the Scottish Government did not think the proposed 17 per cent increase was justified.

The committee heard that SFC interim chief executive Dr John Kemp had decided not to use his power to step in over the decision because such a move should only happen in extreme circumstances.

Dr Kemp said he had instead written to Mr Smith making his views clear and was therefore “disappointed” about the subsequent decision that was reached.