The Telford EIS branch agreed to suspend further strike action
pending negotiations. A statement of October 12th, issued jointly with the College management starts:"Following a series of meetings, senior managers of Edinburgh’s Telford College and EIS – FELA branch representatives have reached agreement on a series of measures which are designed to bring an end to the current dispute. This agreement will now be put to EIS members in a ballot."
Nick Gardner of Leith and North visited the picket line on October 9th to show support and take some photos for the web site. Fay Young of Leith Open Space and Phil Attridge of Leith FM, went along with him.
Mark Lazarowicz MP for Edinburgh North & Leith, had visited the picket earlier. Gemma, a student (pictured left,) was there when Malcolm Chisholm, MSP for the constituency came along, and spoke warmly of meeting him.
EIS members in the college were recently balloted on the proposal to take industrial action, and voted overwhelmingly in favour of the action. Of the 142 lecturers who voted, 127 supported the move to strike action – 89% of those voting. The strikes are scheduled to take place until the end of November, but lecturers are hoping that the College management will review their proposals before then.
The management of Telford College, in Granton, Edinburgh, have entered into an agreement with an employment agency, Protocol National to provide the supply of temporary Lecturing, Instructor and Learning Assistant staff. The College argues that it did this because the number of uncovered classes in previous sessions was at an unacceptable level; it could also use the agency to solve its recruitment problems over short term relief staff such as plumbers. It has now become clear that Protocol National is the sole provider of all temporary lecturing staff, including long-term cover for lecturers on maternity leave and secondments.
Only when the deal was all but done, did the College inform the EIS (the main relevant union,which has bargaining rights for pay and conditions for all lecturing staff at the college,) of its intentions. By the time the EIS was informed it was too late for the union to represent its members and to try and influence the College's decision. The College has gone back on commitments given in May 2007, both at a meeting and in the staff bulletin.
The Protocol National deal - using undisclosed sums of taxpayer's money - hasn't solved recruitment problems. Many lecturers are refusing to register with the agency on inferior terms and conditions, resulting in further cancellations. The precious learning experience of students is not improved.Commenting on the strike action, EIS President Kirsty Devaney said, “Lecturers at Edinburgh's Telford College have been forced into this programme of strike action due to management downgrading the employment status of temporary teaching staff and radically diminishing their terms and conditions of employment. The lecturing staff are taking this action as a last resort, since the college has refused to back down from its decision to force temporary staff to become self-employed agency workers”.
EIS Telford branch blog site >>>
Telford College web site >>>
News on the EIS web site >>>
Protocol National web site >>>
Students back lecturers in college row: Evening News, October 1st >>>