A college facing industrial action has revised its offer to staff in the hope of averting planned strikes.

Edinburgh College has offered to raise the previous maximum salary offer of £34,700 to around £36,000 over a two-year period, in the hope that this will satisfy the EIS union and avert strikes planned for today and Wednesday.

The college said it is seeking to "harmonise" contracts for teaching staff, making them "equitable, fair and affordable" and bringing all teaching staff together on one set of terms and conditions and the same pay scale.

The revised offer, made at a meeting with the EIS today, would also introduce a maximum number of teaching hours at 24 per week.

A limit on weekly teaching hours is one of the reassurances the union has been asking for. The new offer retains the 800-hour annual maximum teaching hours that was part of the original offer, which was already significantly less than all three legacy colleges.

Edinburgh College principal Mandy Exley said: "We have listened to staff, considered what they need very carefully and come back with solutions to their issues.

"This offer demonstrates that we're committed to preventing any more disruption to students and doing what is most important - ensuring their education needs are fully met and that we support our staff in a fair, affordable way."

The chair of Edinburgh College's Board of Management, Ian McKay, said: "We're very disappointed the EIS officials have not suspended this week's strike action. They've been given a fair offer that they can now put to their members and striking this week will only harm the students.

"The college has done what we can to prevent this happening, so the decision now lies with the EIS and its members."