STAFF at a further education college in northern England began voting on more strike action today, in a long-running dispute over plummeting take-home pay.

The University and College Union (UCU) said the latest ballot at The Manchester College, which follows eight days of walkouts earlier this year, will run until December 12.

The union accused bosses of refusing to increase salaries beyond a “derisory” offer of just 1 per cent plus a one-off payment for 2021-22.

The next academic year will see those earning less than £33,000 receive a package worth only 5.5 per cent – less than half skyrocketing double-digit inflation.

The UCU, which is in talks with management via conciliation service Acas, demanded a 10 per cent pay award for its members at the institution, whose parent company has £33.5 million in the bank, it said.

Regional official Martyn Moss warned that workers are being “pushed into poverty.

“It is completely unacceptable during a cost-of-living crisis for management to hoard tens of millions in cash whilst staff are being forced to use food banks,” he charged.

A spokesperson for the LTE Group, which represents the college, told the Morning Star: “We are acutely aware of the challenges that the cost-of-living crisis is causing for our valued colleagues.

“We are committed to continuing discussions with unions under the auspices of Acas so that we can pass on a pay rise to staff as soon as possible.

“Along with other employers, we are operating in a challenging financial environment: LTE Group income for 2022 is significantly below what was originally planned, largely due to changes created by Covid-19. At the same time, in the last year our energy bills and other costs have increased exponentially.

“However, we are keen to award our hard-working staff a pay rise which is affordable and does not jeopardise the long-term financial health and stability of the Group.”