The Correlate expresses real concerns for National Bargaining for Scottish Further Education Colleges when we read the contribution from Ian G posted on the Open Forum under National Bargaining! - Not?
A return to National Bargaining was considered a key element within Regionalisation - but it appears that Mike R is doing a body swerve on this one! Somebody must have clarified the figures for him! Did he get his sums wrong again and take cold feet?
The EIS position, held for some considerable time, is that a return to National Bargaining must be 'with no detriment'; looking to ensure that best practise in salaries and conditions of service is achieved.
The latest EIS SEJ (Scottish Education Journal) May 2013 Vol. 97 Issue no 03 (not online yet) has in its report from the 2013 EIS FELA Conference...
"We want National Bargaining for FE, but with no detriment. We want the best pay and conditions in the sector for all those working in the sector" - John Kelly (Reid Kerr) Moving Motion 1. - (2013 EIS FELA Conference Motions)
Over a year ago an article "Should we beware of Griggs bearing gifts?" published in the SEJ April 2012 Vol. 96 Issue no. 02 included ..
"What of national bargaining? The review presents a clear timeline for restoring this by August 2014. That is very welcome and will take pressure off branch officials. But consider the circumstances. FE has suffered more than a 20% cut in teaching grant (with inflation much more) in two years. The prospects for next year look gloomy. There is a serious danger that ‘bargaining’ will be like asking someone suffering from malnutrition which starvation diet they would prefer to have. For national bargaining to be anything more than sharing the suffering equally, the EIS will have to mount a significant campaign to defend best practice and to fight for a reversal of
funding cuts. FELA’s emergency conference passed many resolutions on the latter and we have to do much, much more to put theminto practice. It is also important that removing negotiations from individual colleges does not make the process remote and bureaucratic. FELA negotiators must be accountable and keep the grass roots fully involved and informed."
We can also refer to the current 'work of fiction' from the City of Glasgow College and the refuted claim for harmonisation there!
If we consider that the City of Glasgow has been 'merged' since September 2010 and still has issues then the 2014 timetable for whole sector to a National Bargaining position 'with no detriment' is a tad more than optimistic!
We would hope that "FELA negotiators must be accountable and keep the grass roots fully involved and informed" but also that the Scottish Government and the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning (does that now stop at 24 for FE?) takes his responsibility and acountability for ensuring that the 'guidance' is adhered to!