SUPPORT staff at Ayrshire College have accepted a pay deal to end almost two years of strikes.

The deal gives members of UNISON, including  librarians, IT specialists, administrators, cleaners, canteen and estate management workers, a flat-rate increase of £5,000 paid in instalments over three years, with a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies in the sector until September.

The dispute involved 21 colleges across Scotland, from the Western Isles to Dumfries and Galloway, and staff at all Ayrshire College's campuses.

UNISON Scotland further education branch Secretary Chris Greenshields said: “This result would not have been reached without the resolve of UNISON’s members working in colleges.

"It took nearly two years of industrial action and the threat of strikes during exam periods to secure these concessions.

 “Importantly, the new offer confirms a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until September 2024, the first guarantee of its kind in the sector.

"If the employers had accepted UNISON’s similar proposals made last year, there would have been no need for industrial action. The Scottish government must learn lessons from this.”