A draft pay deal has been reached between the union for Scotland’s further education lecturers and Colleges Scotland that should end a threatened series of strikes by lecturers across the country.

Colleges Scotland said the draft agreement was made after 12 hours of negotiations ending at 3am and “will lead to the suspension of strike action by lecturers across Scotland’s colleges.”

Colleges Scotland said it agreed a draft pay agreement with union Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) that will be sent to the executive of the EIS’s Further Education Lecturers’ Association (FELA) “with the negotiators’ recommendation to accept.”

Colleges Scotland chief executive Shona Struthers said: “The management side has worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome which will see an end to any further disruption to students and start to address harmonisation of terms and conditions for college lecturers.”

Charlie Montgomery, salaries convenor at EIS-FELA, said: “We are pleased to have made this breakthrough in the early hours that will set a sound foundation going forward.”