SWINDON College boss Mike Hopkins has expressed support for lecturers' claims for better pay but says he cannot condone their plans to strike for the second year running.

The principal is actively involved himself in a campaign to try to persuade the Government to inject millions of pounds more into the under-funded further education sector.

He even joined 450 other college managers, staff and students in a joint lobby of Parliament last month, in which the case for more cash was made to MPs and ministers.

But he says he disagrees with the approach proposed by the NATFHE union, which is currently balloting its members at his college, New College and others around the country for strike action on May 28 and 29.

Mr Hopkins said: "Once again our poor funding is not enough to keep pace with inflation and this has been the case for several years.

"Colleges are finding it increasingly difficult to afford the sort of pay rises that are necessary to keep salaries in line with other professions.

"We have got a very professional and dedicated staff of teachers and non-teachers at Swindon College, but their salaries are slipping behind people in equivalent sectors and do not reflect their professionalism and high skills.

"Because of that we are losing good staff and are struggling to recruit good staff to replace them. I can't support strike action but I can absolutely see their case."

The Advertiser reported yesterday how NATFHE has rejected an "insulting" pay offer of a 1.5 per cent rise from the Government-funded employers' body, the Association of Colleges.

It says that if the ballots result in a yes vote, the two-day stoppage will go ahead at hundreds of colleges around the country.

Mr Hopkins said his relationship with his college's union branch is good and if the strikes do go ahead, he does not expect them to prevent crucial exams going ahead.

He said: "The college will remain open and I am sure that the unions will work with the college to ensure that all exams take place as scheduled.

"We will try to maintain as normal a service as we can on those days if the strikes do go ahead."

In a short statement issued to the Advertiser, Dr Martin Keating, deputy principal at New College, said: "As far as we are aware at the moment, the college will be staying open if the strikes go ahead and exams will go ahead as normal."

Paul Mackney, general secretary of University and College Lecturers' Union NATFHE, is making an urgent appeal to the Education Secretary, Estelle Morris.

He wants her to release £1.4 billion unspent from last year's education budget to ease the crisis in cash-strapped further education colleges.

Mr Mackney warns of continued industrial unrest in colleges because of the Government's failure to ensure lecturers' pay rises to that of schoolteachers by 2004.

NATFHE has rejected as insulting the 1.5 per cent offer which employers' body the AoC made during pay negotiations on April 16.

It is asking for ten times more, saying that a 15 per cent wages rise is essential to make the higher education profession attractive.