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The Educational Institute of Scotland is calling for a Scottish sub-committee of the IRC and is seeking one of the IRC's five union seats, writes Olga Wojtas.

Only the eight pre-1992 Scottish universities negotiate through the UCEA. Other Scottish higher education institutions negotiate via the Conference of Scottish Centrally Funded Colleges. The EIS is the majority union on the staff side of the Scottish negotiations, which also include the AUT, MSF and Scottish Further and Higher Education Association.

Ronnie Smith, EIS general secretary, said: "There is a question of how Scotland's interests are adequately addressed. There is a sector that is not part of any other national framework, and it is our view that one of the five seats ought to go to the EIS University Lecturers' Association as the body that effectively represents academics in that sector."