UHI Moray staff "threatened" with pay deduction for participation in industrial action
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
UHI Moray staff say they have been "threatened" with a 100 per cent deduction in pay if they participate in industrial action.
Members of EIS-FELA and UNISON will walk out on February 29 in a row over pay and jobs.
But lecturers at UHI Moray have been taking part in action short of a strike (ASOS) since February 12 including working to rule and withholding of results.
This means some lecturers have withheld student results and will not carry out duties beyond their contractual agreement.
Moray EIS officials have told The Northern Scot that lecturers were sent an email on February 8 from UHI Moray Principal David Patterson warning them that participation in ASOS and a resulting boycott would be treated as "unacceptable partial performance" and a breach of contract.
The email allegedly said that 100 per cent of their salary would be deducted for each day that they fail to comply.
It added that any work they do carry out while participating in ASOS would be treated as voluntary.
EIS says it will "robustly" defend its members' "democratic and human right" to take part in industrial action.
A Moray EIS official said: "If employers wish an end to the ASOS, rather than resort to vindictive, punitive, vengeful anti-trade union actions, they should undertake what is required to come to the negotiating table promptly with an improved pay offer that comes at no cost to jobs."
The Northern Scot revealed last month that upwards of 45 jobs could go at UHI Moray this year as the college grapples with significant funding challenges.
However, UHI Moray says that a final pay offer to union members "remains on the table".
A spokesperson for UHI Moray said: "We will be making every effort to minimise the disruption this has on our students and services and plan to be open on February 29.
"This action, if taken by trade union members, constitutes a breach of contract, and we have advised staff of this and of the implications for their salary payments in advance."
They added: "This final offer remains on the table despite the exceptionally difficult financial circumstances facing colleges.
"If accepted, it would deliver an average pay rise of nearly 16 per cent for support staff going back to September 2022, and 21.5 per cent for support staff earning less than £25,000.
"For lecturers, this offer would deliver an 11.5 per cent average pay increase from September, keeping them as the UK’s best-paid college lecturers.
"Those at the start of the national pay scale would benefit from a rise of 14.2 per cent."
Unions say any improved pay offer will only be accepted if there is a "guarantee" that it won't be at the expense of jobs.
Collette Bradley, chair of UNISON Scotland's further education committee, said: "It's time for ministers to step and get this dispute sorted.
"College staff have not had a pay rise for 18 months, which is completely unacceptable in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
“Employees are simply demanding fair pay and no compulsory redundancies."
