HUNDREDS of lecturers at Lancaster University are going on strike next week to show their disgust at pay proposals.

Academics and support staff, who belong to the higher education union AUT, will walk out as part of a national dispute over plans to overhaul their pay framework.

Members intend to form picket lines at the gateways to the university on Tuesday and Wednesday.

There will also be a gathering of students and staff on the second day of action as part of the National Union of Students' campaign against top-up fees.

The strike follows a ballot of 47,000 members nationwide - about half responded, with 66.65 per cent backing strike action.

More than 80 per cent also voted to take action short of a strike, such as a boycott of call-out cover and job evaluation exercises from March.

AUT general secretary Sally Hunt says: "We hope the employers will understand the seriousness of the situation and re-open negotiations now."

AUT members say current pay proposals would lead many lecturers to lose £6,300 over eight years because of decreased annual increments.

Researchers would lose £17,300 over nine years and related staff would lose £47,000 over 21 years.

As well as far-reaching changes to pay, the employers' offer includes a proposed pay increase for the current year and the next.

This would amount to a guaranteed increase of 6.44 per cent during those two years.

David Smith, Lancaster AUT branch president, says: "We hope this protest will have an impact on employers nationally.

"We don't really think that university business will be massively disrupted, as things will get re-arranged, but the action short of a strike has potential for a greater impact."

At Lancaster University, 540 members of staff - a quarter of all 2200 workers - are AUT members.

A Lancaster University spokesman told the Citizen: "The University will be doing everything possible to minimise disruption to staff, students and visitors on those days.

"It will be business as usual for those staff not involved in the strike, including other unions and members of the AUT who did not vote for strike action."