Ahead of further strike action taking place at Fife College, an MSP has called on the Minister for Higher and Further Education to “do his job”.

Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, has written to Graeme Dey to ask him to find solution to the longstanding industrial action facing the college sector across Scotland. This comes before another strike action is due to take place at Fife College on Friday, May 3.

In a letter to the minister, Mr Rowley expressed concerns about cuts in funding to Scotland's colleges.

He said: “The unprecedented cuts to college budgets paint a worrying picture as to what value this government places on college education. If we are serious about delivering a properly trained and skilled workforce for the future, then we need to properly fund colleges.

“Far too many young people in Fife do not have the education and skills needed to give them a good start in the world of work and this must change. We need our colleges to be geared up to support and equip people for the world of work and that means sorting out this dispute and putting in place the resources required.

“The Minister for Higher and Further Education needs to do his job and sort this dispute out and recognise that we have a major skills shortage in Fife and across Scotland that needs to be addressed.”

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) gave notice in March to all of Scotland’s colleges of a programme of rolling strike action in a long running dispute over pay. This marks a further escalation in the pay dispute, which has seen members of the EIS-Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA) taking action short of strike since the middle of February. They have also already taken a national day of strike action.

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EIS-FELA President Anne-Marie Harley said on the rolling strike action: "Once again EIS-FELA members are being forced to take strike action in pursuit of a fair pay offer. It is a disgrace that in 2024 our members are living on 2021 wages, amidst the worst cost of living crisis in generations."

She added: "The EIS-FELA does not accept that our members should be treated any differently to any other public sector workers and are simply seeking a fair pay offer which properly reflects the invaluable work that we do."

A spokesperson for Fife College said: “We respect our colleagues’ right to strike, and we look forward to this national dispute between the EIS-FELA and the governing bodies being resolved quickly so that we can focus on delivering outstanding education for all Fife College students.”