Bulletin No 9 - 3 November 2021

Created on: 03 Nov 2021


SRUC Bulletin

Bulletin No. 09

Dear Member

Following protracted Industrial Action, SRUC management has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) based on one proposed by the EIS to resolve the dispute.

The MoU is an agreement between the EIS and the SRUC. It sets out a number of points which will be part of the new SRUC pay and grading structure, agreed at the SRUC JNCC, because both the EIS and the SRUC commit to delivering these agreed points at the SRUC JNCC (where such decisions have to be made)

You can download the full MoU here  https://www.eis.org.uk/SRUC-Pay-And-Grading-Dispute/MoU

The MoU commits the EIS and the SRUC to delivering a Pay & Grading structure that:

  1. Has a pay implementation date of 1 August 2022
  2. Has five level academic structure, with the following posts:
    1. Teaching Instructor/Research Assistant
    2. Teaching Associate/Research Associate
    3. Lecturer /Research Fellow
    4. Senior Lecturer/Reader
    5. Professor
  3. Has academic pay benchmarked to the rest of the HE sector in Scotland
  4. Has an improved access to SRUC post-graduate study for staff to improve career pathways

The Branch Executive met today and agreed unanimously to recommend this agreement to members in an indicative ballot. In order to facilitate the indicative ballot – the Branch Executive has requested that the industrial action be suspended for two weeks in order to carry out the indicative ballot.

The ballot will be an online indicative ballot on whether or not to accept this MoU in settlement of the dispute. You will receive an invitation to vote in that ballot this week. The ballot will run for 7 days, and your branch exec is unanimously recommending voting to accept the MoU.

You will also soon receive an invitation to a branch meeting covering your campus. If you can, please attend. This is you chance to hear about the MoU and ask any questions you have.

We believe this MoU forms the basis of a deal which will lead to a fair pay and grading system at SRUC going forward. Should management fail to honour any part of this agreement, we would enter into dispute and progress industrial action. Sadly, we have experience of having to do this in the FE sector. We have informed them of this and are clear that we expect them to honour the deal.

It is only through the collective action of you as EIS members that this proposed agreement has come to pass.  The strength of feeling of staff and concerted collective action you undertook, has pressured SRUC into reaching the proposed agreement. EIS members at SRUC should be proud of their actions in this dispute, and of their Branch Executive who have fought for better pay for staff since merger in 2012.

Deborah Shepherd
National Officer HE