Minister meets stakeholders to discuss colege lecturers' pay
17 May 2007
Minister for Employment and Learning, Sir Reg Empey, today met representatives from Northern Ireland’s Further Education (FE) sector, to discuss the ongoing industrial action over FE lecturers’ pay.
At the outset, the Minister emphasised that he was not attempting to mediate between parties to the dispute, but that he simply wanted to hear the views of all those involved before forming a view about the scope for resolution.
He said: “I welcome today’s meeting to hear, at first hand, the concerns over this important issue. These pay negotiations have been going on since last year and I would like to see them resolved satisfactorily before the six newly merged colleges open in the autumn.
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Those attending the meeting included FE College employers, the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges (ANIC), the University & College Union (UCU), and NASUWT.
Negotiations between FE College employers and FE lecturers’ unions on a pay settlement have been constrained by the cap on public sector pay increases that has been applied by Government throughout the UK.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1.Under the Department for Employment and Learning’s strategy, FE Means Business, Northern Ireland’s 16 FE Colleges will now merge into six larger area-based groupings. Whilst the number of College campuses delivering courses locally will not change, the larger Colleges will help to enhance the sector’s profile as a deliverer of high-quality services, will improve their ability to influence local and regional economic planning and will strengthen the Colleges’ ability to provide a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of courses at all levels. Colleges are currently working on the practical arrangements for merger, a process that will be completed when the colleges formally merge on 1 August 2007.
2.During the 2005/06 academic year, there were 1,931 full-time lecturers and 3,109 part-time lecturers employed in the Further Education sector in Northern Ireland.
3. Media queries to the Department for Employment and Learning Press Office on 028 9025 7872.