College lecturers and support staff will hold a one-day nation-wide strike on Tuesday in protest at a 2.3 per cent pay offer by college employers.

It is the first time the lecturer and support staff unions have joined forces in strike action in further education colleges.

Forum Response: NATFHE

Paul Mackney, general secretary of NATFHE, said: "The employers are proving incapable of resolving this dispute. We have done everything we can to get the employers back around the table to avoid disruption to our students' education.

"And the government is not completely blameless. Ministers could have helped to stiffen the resolve of the Association of Colleges to negotiate in good faith to close the pay gap. Neither has seemed willing to go the extra mile needed to avoid this strike."

Forum Response: Unison

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said: "I am angry at the employers. We have left the door open for negotiations but they would rather drag us through the courts on technical legal points.

"The employers attempt to get an injunction was a disgraceful attempt to stop Unison members taking part in the strike. Unison members will not be intimidated by such bullying tactics.

"The employers seem to have forgotten the plight of dedicated further education college staff who have become the poor relations of the education sector."