THE Scottish government was accused today of failing to intervene in a college sector pay dispute.

Scottish Labour education spokeswoman Pam Duncan-Glancy wrote to Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth to demand she puts “an end to the sector’s crisis” and instructs further education minister Graeme Dey to “step up.”

The long-running pay dispute dates back to 2022 and has involved strike days, including in May and June.

Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland Further Education Lecturers’ Association said in June that further talks did not resolve the dispute.

Ms Duncan-Glancy accused Mr Dey of causing “chaos” and “wilfully standing by as industrial relations weaken by the day.”

She claimed Mr Dey had failed to “engage meaningfully” with the sector, and added: “The situation is untenable and must be resolved.”

She wrote: “Colleges are stretched, forced to do more with less for their students, and college teaching staff face deepening job insecurity, all because of chronic underfunding by this Scottish government.

“Your government should have stepped in long ago, but this situation has developed and deepened over years of inaction.

“There appears to be no end in sight for the college dispute.

“So, I have to ask, if not now, when will the government consider it an appropriate time to intervene?”

She said the situation is creating “distress for staff and disruption for students.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said that responsibility for these negotiations rests with the National Joint Negotiating Committee and that the government will continue to engage with both parties to reach a settlement.