WEST College Scotland bosses have been accused of escalating the industrial dispute and turning it into a 'full blown crisis' by withholding lecturers wages.

EIS-FELA Branch Secretary Mark Gillan blasted the decision by management to get tough over the results boycott introduced by the union.

He says they have now turned it in to a 'full blown conflict' as the lecturers continue to fight for an improved pay offer.

Earlier the union announced they would not enter the students results into the recording system until the college bosses offered an improved deal.

Councillor Colin Jackson, who is part of the 'Save Our College' campaign set up to help staff fight cuts, condemned the decision by West College Scotland management.

West College Scotland's Greenock campus EIS/FELA branch secretary Mark Gillan said: "We have been informed by the principal that wages will not be paid for the days lecturers engage in the results boycott during the critical induction week.

"Only a handful of colleges are taking this extreme stance, claiming it is to 'protect students'.

"However, some colleges have recognised the damage this could cause and have postponed or cancelled plans for this.

"But at West College Scotland, sadly to say, management has chosen to escalate the situation, turning a local dispute into a full-blown conflict by withholding wages for lecturers engaged in a legitimate, democratically sanctioned industrial action.

"Lecturers will not work for free. They, too, have families to support and budgets to manage.

"Instead of protecting students, the college management's decision is set to escalate a three day strike into a five-day absence from the classroom, wreaking havoc on the start of the academic year—a time that should be exciting and full of promise for students. 

"This reckless approach by the management has created a local dispute on top of the national one, igniting unprecedented anger among lecturers and turning a challenging situation into a full-blown crisis that threatens to derail the academic year."

The branch secretary added this is the latest blow to further education.

Mr Gillan said: "The cuts to college course, the closure of facilities like the nursery, the reduction in catering and the ongoing voluntary redundancies have all undermine further education.

"It is an attack on the working classes, because it is the working classes who rely on the college in Greenock.

"It breaks my heart that we have to do this to our students. We do not do this lightly. But we are not being treated the same as other public service workers.

"The Scottish Government have intervened for the teachers, the nurses and doctors."

In Inverclyde a 'Save Our College' cross-party campaign was formed over concerns about the future of the vital service.

Councillor Colin Jackson said: "College employers and the Scottish government have brought this on themselves; they have had every opportunity to offer these workers a fair pay settlement, but instead they continue to ignore the pay claims of lecturers and continue to cut the budgets of the FE sector. 

"Most worrying though is the punitive action being taken by college managements who seem intent on making a bad situation worse. 

"Their decision to cut the pay of any lecturer exercising their legal right to take industrial action will only make matters worse; this is nothing short of an act of pure contempt towards staff, the unions who represent them, and the students themselves.

A spokesperson for West College Scotland said: “The industrial action is part of the current National Dispute that affects all Scottish colleges and is outwith the control of West College Scotland to resolve locally but we hope a resolution can be negotiated at the earliest opportunity. 

"At West College we pride ourselves on putting our students first and working to enable their success.

"We therefore urge teaching staff to stop withholding the results that our students have worked so hard to achieve and allow those students to receive the official qualifications they need to gain employment or continue their educational journey.

“Deducting pay is never a measure that colleges want to take. We absolutely recognise the legal right to take industrial action, but entering results is a critical aspect of fulfilling the teaching employment contract. 

"This action directly targets students and we remain concerned about the negative impact this resulting boycott will have."

They added that they are working to minimise the impact of the national industrial action and confirmed September Graduation ceremonies will go ahead. 

On West College Scotland's provision, the spokesperson added:  “West College Scotland remains committed to providing the highest quality learning and training opportunities to the people of Inverclyde with more than 400 courses on offer across the College. 

"We are also making significant investments in our campuses this summer, including Greenock’s Finnart Street, to ensure our students can continue study and learn in the best possible environments.”