LECTURERS from Swindon College and New College are set to strike over pay for the second time in six months.

Five out of the six unions with members in further education colleges have balloted members on a one-day stoppage on November 5 or before then.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers has said that strike action could go ahead after a ballot and the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education also plans to go on strike whether it is supported by other unions or not.

More than 200 lecturers at Swindon College are angry they have been offered a pay rise of just 2.3 per cent compared to the 3.5 per cent offered to university lecturers and local government workers.

They and their colleagues at New College went on strike in May for two days after being offered a 1.5 per cent pay increase compared to the five per cent offered to teachers.

The colleges have in turn blamed the Government for not giving them comparable funding to schools. While an extra one per cent funding has been promised to colleges, it will not be available until the 2003-2004 term at the earliest, meaning colleges cannot offer more cash to staff this year.

Mike Hopkins, Swindon College principal, said: "As principal I regret any strikes which could impact on the learning of students.

"However I have a highly skilled and talented workforce and would like them to receive salaries that would make staying on at the college attractive to them.

"That means paying a professional wage."

David Gibson, chief executive of the Association of Colleges that represents further education establishments, said: "Education Secretary Estelle Morris' has funds available to avert this strike.

"Providing an extra £30m this year and £80m next year would enable colleges to match the 3.5 per cent pay offer made to comparable staff in other sectors.

"Alternatively, she could allow colleges to find an extra one per cent by freeing up some of the funds which the Government has ring-fenced, preventing us from spending them on pay.

"However, we want colleges to have a well-paid workforce, not one which is constantly under-resourced compared with schools and higher education.

Swindon's Association of Teachers and Lecturers representative, Phil Baker, said: "I believe the college lecturers have a just cause and would not be surprised if industrial action was taken by the ATL following a ballot.

"Lecturers have been left behind in the pay stakes for years and the situation is now reaching a crisis in terms of recruitment and retention."