Created on: 15 Jul 2010 | Last modified: 01 May 2024
1. The Only Recognised Union for FE Lecturers
The EIS is the sole recognised union for Further Education lecturers in Scotland’s colleges. Lecturers, and staff whose duties include one or more of the following: teaching, lecturing, curriculum management & administration, tutoring or assessment are eligible for membership.
2. Largest Trade Union for Lecturers and Teachers in Scotland
The EIS is the largest teacher trade union representing over 80% of Scotland’s teachers in all sectors of the education system (8 out of 10 teachers and lecturers in Scotland are members of the EIS).
3. A Scottish Union with a Separate Further Education Lecturers’ Association
The EIS makes all its decisions here in Scotland. Further Education is a devolved matter, and the EIS has a separate selfgoverning association for the FE sector: EIS-FELA. The EIS is the only trade union in tertiary education that makes all decisions here in Scotland.
4. Negotiating and Improving Pay & Conditions
The EIS is part of Scottish national collective bargaining for FE (the NJNC) with an overall majority of seats on the Staff Side. The NJNC deals with national conditions of service. Local EIS-FELA representatives engage in limited collective bargaining happens at college level on local issues.
5. Supporting Your Career Development
As a professional organisation, the EIS is committed to promoting opportunities for quality professional learning for lecturers and teachers throughout their careers. The EIS is the only Scottish teaching union with Learning Representatives to support members’ CPD.
6. Supporting and Helping Individual Members
We provide guidance and support for individual members when they ask for it, such as returning to work after illness, workplace stress, redundancies, disciplinaries and grievances. Representation is provided by local officials and full-time officials – drawing on legal advice as appropriate.
7. Taking Action
In the last resort, the EIS in FE has demonstrated its willingness to take industrial action in support of members and their terms of conditions-EIS-FELA members have taken action to establish and defend national bargaining, win on pay and defend the role of the lecturer against attempts to replace it with instructors. We have an excellent record in winning industrial action.
8. A Large Network of Experienced Lay Officials
The EIS has a large network of experienced elected officials in Branches and on the EIS-FELA Executive Committees that are well supported by the EIS. They provide advice and representation for members in Branches, and access to full-time union officials.
9. Leading on the Key Issues in Education
As the oldest education union in the world, the EIS has a commitment in its charter to promote sound learning. The EIS regularly meets with the students, Education Scotland, SQA, GTCS etc to work to ensure the educational policy works for FE.
10. Unity is strength
The EIS-FELA exists to defend the interests of college lecturers and protect quality further education. It’s strength is drawn from its size and by individual people deciding to act as part of a collective for the greater good. Divided we lose out.
We win by acting together.