Joint statement from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the EIS union
“Scotland’s Rural College and the EIS union are pleased to announce that the planned strike action at SRUC campuses has today (3 November) been suspended with immediate effect.
“This follows a dispute over pay and grading which, thanks to several weeks of hard work and negotiation on both sides, has now led to a proposed resolution – with EIS members about to be balloted on approving a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement to resolve the dispute.
“SRUC and EIS have agreed a proposed Memorandum of Understanding that, if approved by EIS members, will bind SRUC and EIS to implement key points within a future Pay & Grading Framework, and that they will work together to design a pay and grading structure that will reflect the organisation’s unique nature in Scotland. This MoU will be put to EIS members for acceptance in a ballot running over the next seven days.
“The pay and grading structure will be underpinned by the job evaluation process and will be benchmarked against the sector, developing a structure that will align academic grades to the HEI sector norm.
“The new structure will be implemented as soon as possible following the job evaluation process and the agreement at the Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee (JNCC) of the new pay spine, grading structure and assimilation arrangements.
“A key part of the dispute centred on agreeing a date to which any pay increases that arise from the job evaluation and pay and grading agreement will be backdated.
“SRUC needs to lead the way as an enterprise HEI at the heart of the natural economy.
“A fair and equitable pay and grading system and harmonised terms and conditions are key to unlocking the organisation’s potential and creating the conditions for growth.
“Both SRUC and EIS also recognise that nothing is more important than the welfare of colleagues and students and we are pleased to be able to have reached a proposed agreement on this important matter and to ensure that full teaching capacity can resume.
“We are delighted to have been able to ‘reset’ our relationship and we look forward to working together on this new era of understanding and co-operation.”
Wayne Powell, SRUC Principal and Chief Executive, and Larry Flanagan, EIS General Secretary
