TEN thousand staff at 68 colleges in England will be balloted for strike action, the University & College Union (UCU) announced today.

The union called for higher pay, more manageable workloads and a new national bargaining framework.

It warned that if demands are not met, the college sector will face serious disruption in the coming months.

Along with the National Education Union, the GMB, Unison and Unite, the UCU is calling for a 10 per cent or £3,000 pay rise.

Ballots will open on October 13 and run until November 17.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “It is unacceptable that following years of pay degradation, college staff are expected to stomach further real-terms pay cuts while at the same time dealing with ever-higher workloads.”

The UCU is also campaigning for parity with school teachers’ pay within three years, a minimum starting salary of £30,000, national agreements on workload and a binding national bargaining framework.