Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 18 January 2024.
It is rare for a week to pass without a minister saying in the chamber that we do not have industrial action in the national health service in Scotland at the moment because of the action and intervention of ministers. What does it say about the failure of the Government to intervene in our colleges when we note that this week, college staff in the Educational Institute of Scotland Further Education Lecturers Association have once again voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action? What will the minister do in the coming days to avert that action and to ensure that our college staff get a fair pay deal, given that Audit Scotland recently warned that we face a recruitment and retention crisis in our colleges and that more cuts and a lack of fair pay will simply make that worse?