Natfhe has submitted its further education pay claim

Lecturers' union Natfhe has submitted its further education pay claim for a flat-rate increase of Pounds 30 a week and a return to a national framework which would include pay bargaining. The union submitted its bid, amounting to between 7 and 8 per cent extra for the bulk of its 40,000 members, to the Association of Colleges on Tuesday.

The first Natfhe-AOC negotiating meetings are scheduled for May though colleges are under no obligation to honour any award.

A key part of the Natfhe claim is the growing disparity between teachers' and lecturers' pay. This was underlined last week when the Government confirmed the teachers' 3.3 per cent increase. It takes teachers' salary range from Pounds 14,463 to Pounds 34,476. Further education lecturers, including senior lecturers, were paid between Pounds 12,264 and Pounds 26,829.