Oxfordshire colleges are bracing themselves for more strikes next year, following a breakdown in pay talks between unions and employers.

Three unions representing lecturers and support staff in further education colleges, the NATFHE, the ATL, and UNISON, will join forces for a national strike on January 30 if the Association of Colleges fails to improve its 2.3 per cent pay offer.

The unions criticised the employers' failure to imp- rove its pay offer during negotiations earlier this month, despite Government guarantees of an additional £32 million of funding for FE colleges nationwide.

Alan Whitaker, NATFHE representative for Oxford College, who sits on the union's national executive, said strike action had succeeded in securing pay claims last year and industrial action would increase unless a deal could be struck.

He said: "Our pay campaign is an escalating programme of industrial action and if there is no sensible offer then you will be seeing more than one-day disruptions.

"We want to see our pay catch up with teachers' pay by 2004. They are only talking about 3.5 per cent extra, which is the same increase as school teachers -- but we need to catch up with them."

Mr Whitaker said college lecturers were paid 12 per cent less than school teachers, meaning their pay would have to improve by about 16 per cent by 2004 for their claim to be met. The unions also want to close the gap between college support staff pay and comparable posts in local government.

Bob Challis, principal of Abingdon and Witney College, said one-day disruptions were difficult but not disabling for colleges, and said students' education would not suffer.