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Pay deal reached in long-running strike dispute at University of the Highlands and Islands campuses





Unison strikes had affected numerous UHI campuses across the Highlands.
Unison strikes had affected numerous UHI campuses across the Highlands.

A long-running pay dispute that has sparked strikes at UHI college campuses across the Highlands - including two in Caithness - is over after union members accepted the latest offer.

College support staff have been in dispute with 21 colleges across Scotland for almost two years, leading to several strikes at UHI colleges - including UHI North, West and Hebrides which has campuses in Thurso and Halkirk.

But the new three-year pay offer was “overwhelmingly” backed by support staff, who include librarians, IT specialists, administrators, cleaners, canteen and estate management workers.

The union, Unison, says the deal gives a flat-rate increase of £5000 paid in instalments over three years, with a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until September 2024. It added that this was the first time there had been such a no-redundancy guarantee in the sector.

Unison Scotland further education branch secretary Chris Greenshields said: “This result would not have been reached without the resolve of UNISON’s members working in colleges. It took nearly two years of industrial action and the threat of strikes during exam periods to secure these concessions.

“Importantly, the new offer confirms a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until September 2024, the first guarantee of its kind in the sector. If the employers had accepted similar proposals made by UNISON last year, there would have been no need for industrial action. The Scottish government must learn lessons from this.”

Unison Scotland further education branch chair Collette Bradley said: “Colleges should be in absolutely no doubt that if they push through job cuts then there’ll be a swift return to the chaos of industrial action and strikes.

“Scottish government minister Graeme Dey has been congratulating himself for proposing this three-year deal, but college staff still face real job insecurity. This makes a mockery of him saying he was unable to get involved in the dispute.

“UNISON will now be demanding the minister does everything to ensure employers honour the deal and work with the union to avoid redundancies for next year.”


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