Lecturers will begin their two-day strike action on Wednesday

Staff will walkout on Wednesday 16 May and Thursday 17 May in protest against the management's restructuring plans.

They say the changes, which could lead to possible redundancies, would have a serious and damaging effect on the terms and conditions of staff.

The college denied the new proposals would damage either pay or conditions.

Perth College EIS branch secretary Bill Meach insisted the strike was not about pay.

This dispute is not, and never has been, about seeking more pay for lecturers Bill Meach EIS branch secretary

He said: "Lecturers are taking this action in defence of their jobs and the terms of their contracts.

"This dispute is not, and never has been, about seeking more pay for lecturers.

"The college's planned restructuring has absolutely no sound educational rationale and will cause serious long-term damage to the quality of education available to the students of Perth College."

A majority of EIS members at the college voted in favour of the action earlier this year.

Despite the vote, bosses at the college said that a pay deal had been fixed in December which guaranteed the teaching staff would be among the top 10 best paid in the nation.

Student experience

The college said the deal represented an increase of more than 6% this year, while allowing academic staff to keep 60 days of paid annual leave.

Sarah Wood of Perth College said management did not understand why lecturers were concerned over the restructuring plan and insisted it would actually bring management closer to students as well as boost lecturer pay.

She said: "We cannot understand why lecturers think this restructuring plan is detrimental to the student experience.