Lecturer strike is not a blow to graduation

Optometry students are this week celebrating the resolution of the university lecturer strike drama, as reported in Optician over the last three months.

The good news comes after the University and College Union met in London on Tuesday and agreed to a pay increase of 13.1 per cent over three years.

Those currently in their ?final year at optometry departments are now expected to graduate as normal, enabling them to complete their pre-registration years without any problems.

Last month Optician reported that representatives from the Association of Optometrists, Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians, the General Optical Council and the College of Optometrists had agreed to suspend part of its regulations relating to enrolment for pre-registration training until the industrial action was resolved.

GOC chief executive Peter Coe commented: ‘We’re delighted this dispute has been resolved. We hope that all optometry and dispensing optics students will now be able to graduate and proceed to their pre-registration placements in the normal way.

‘The GOC will continue to work with the College and education providers to ensure arrangements are in place to manage any ongoing effects of the disruption.’

Bradford University optometry department head David Elliott also expressed relief about the resolution.

‘It is great news that the graduations will go ahead. It was fantastic that the College and the GOC had arranged contingency plans, but it looks as though we won’t need them now,’ he said.

‘We are now just waiting for the resolution to be officially stated at a local level so that funds are returned to staff here who received wage cuts of 25 per cent, but assuming this will go ahead, everything will continue as normal.’