Staff at colleges across Greater Glasgow are set to be on strike today.

Unison has announced that support staff, including librarians, IT specialists, administrators, cleaners, canteen workers, and estate management staff, at 21 colleges in Scotland will walk out today in a row over pay and jobs.

According to the union, workers are still waiting for a pay rise that was due in September 2022 and their employers to guarantee any pay rises won't be at the expense of jobs.

Now, Unison has said college leaders must guarantee there will be no compulsory redundancies if they want to avoid further disruption.

Colleagues in Greater Glasgow who are affected by the strikes are: 

  • City of Glasgow College: City Campus and Riverside
  • New College Lanarkshire: Cumbernauld, Coatbridge, and Motherwell
  • South Lanarkshire College: East Kilbride
  • West College Scotland: Clydebank and Greenock
  • Glasgow Clyde College: Langside and Cardonald
  • Glasgow Kelvin College: Haghill and Springburn

Chris Greenshields, UNISON Scotland’s further education branch secretary, said: “College staff up and down the country have had enough, it has been 78 weeks since staff were due their pay rise and they are demanding that this dispute is settled free from the threat of compulsory redundancy.

“UNISON is committed to reaching a resolution to this dispute and submitted revised proposals in December to resolve matters which the colleges took over two months to reject.

"It beggars belief that employers haven't even bothered to meet the unions since early December.

"College staff want an end to this dispute and to get back to the jobs they love - supporting learners.”

Meanwhile, Collette Bradley, Chair of UNISON Scotland's further education branch, said: “Further education in Scotland is in chaos and this dispute has now been going on for 18 months.

"It's time the Scottish Government stepped in to explore every avenue to reach an agreement. No one takes the decision to strike lightly.

“We all know how important it is for students’ studies not to be disrupted.

"But college staff had not had a pay rise for one and a half years which has added further stress to a dedicated workforce already suffering from the cost-of-living crisis.

"College staff are simply demanding fair pay and no compulsory redundancies. We need to avoid any further disruption for students and local communities.”