BURY College will be hit by strike action on Tuesday (Nov 5) involving staff who describe their salaries as "a joke".

Members of the public sector workers union Unison, along with members of the lecturers union NATFHE, are determined to stage a national strike unless employers are prepared to come back to the negotiating table.

"We see strike action as a necessary evil, it is not something we relish. Essentially it is a demonstrative action to highlight the gap between our salaries and teachers in schools: they earn up to £6,000 a year more than us," said Bury College NATFHE branch secretary John Nicholson.

He added: "Salaries are a joke and this means it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain staff. We do not have a problem with Bury College itself, but with the position it finds itself in as a result of the fund-raising mechanism. We are disappointed that the college employers, who lobbied with us earlier this year, have not got more out of the Government."

Mr Nicholson stressed that A/S examinations taking place on Tuesday will not be disrupted.

"There will be a picket line but we won't be stopping students or invigilators going in."

College principal Dr Helen Gilchrist said that non-examination students have been advised not to attend classes on the day of the strike.

She added: "Lecturers will do their utmost to ensure students are not disadvantaged. Scheduled exams will take place as planned with all staff treating student examinations as a priority."

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said he was angry that employers had let matters come to a head.

"Two-thirds of our FE members earn less than £13,000 a year. The employers' offer is worth just 13p an hour for those on £10,500," he said.

"For the first time, low-paid staff working in colleges have voted to go on strike and risk losing a day's pay. This should send a wake-up call to the employers that the situation is serious. We are urging them to re-open pay negotiations."

Unison members have rejected the employers' offer of 2.3 per cent. Unison is seeking a pay increase to bring the minimum starting salary to £11,000 and allow staff in FE colleges to catch up with staff in other parts of the public sector.