SCOTLAND’S colleges are facing further strikes after unions were told not all institutions could afford a recently agreed pay deal.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union suspended industrial action last month bringing to an end the most serious strike in Scottish education since the long-running teachers’ dispute in the 1980s.

The move came after an agreement was reached with Colleges Scotland which should have led to the first payment of a new salary scale which will eventually see unpromoted lecturers earn £40,000. Now union negotiators say they have been told some colleges cannot afford the increases.

Colleges Scotland said £4.6 million had been provided by the Scottish Government, but because the sector was in such a difficult financial situation many institutions would struggle to honour the payments.

According to the latest accounts 17 out of 20 colleges recorded an operational deficit in 2015/16, with just three in surplus. Three colleges are in serious financial difficulties including Edinburgh College which has a deficit of £7m.

A briefing note from the EIS negotiating team states: “We signed an agreement in May in which we agreed we would immediately suspend strike action and the employers side agreed to immediately implement the harmonisation pay elements.

“This week they advised us that while the employers association had agreed in principle to pay, some colleges may choose not to do this due to cash concerns.”

The briefing adds: “We need an assurance that national bargaining is about delivering the same outcome for all colleges. National means national and we will not write off any college.

“We signed the agreement and suspended strike action in good faith, and we are deeply disappointed to find ourselves three weeks later looking once again at industrial action.”

A spokeswoman for Colleges Scotland said: “A small number of colleges are in a desperate financial position, but because of the cost pressures facing all colleges the reality is that this will be difficult to afford for many institutions.”

The row centres on a commitment by the government to introduce harmonisation across the country after decades of different pay and conditions in different colleges as a result of local bargaining.

As a result, a new pay structure with £40,000 as the top of the salary scale for an unpromoted lecturer was agreed last year and should now be being implemented. Further negotiations have been organised for this week.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “It is important that a settlement is reached quickly on outstanding issues of the deal agreed on 19th May 2017. 

“To that end, both sides need to continue to work constructively for an early solution, so that the sector can focus on delivering the high-quality education that its students expect.

"The move to national bargaining is a significant step forward and we now want to see colleges and unions working together to implement it.

“There will clearly be cost implications of any agreement which the Scottish Government will seek to reflect in future budget settlements.”