Thousands of Oxfordshire students will miss classes on Tuesday because of a strike at further education colleges.

Tutors are protesting about their pay, which has fallen below school teachers' wages.

It is part of a national day of action organised by the lecturers' union, the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education.

Most of the union's members at Oxford, Abingdon and Northern Oxfordshire colleges are expected to strike - apart from those who are involved with exams of students with special needs.

Agricultural colleges have not been balloted on strike action because of the foot and mouth outbreak.

Lecturers at further education colleges claim that their average pay is £19,000 to £20,000.

School teachers earn an average of just less than £27,000, including £2,000 performance-related pay and this year received a 3.7 per cent pay rise. Tutors went on strike several weeks ago to protest that they were still waiting for last year's 3.3 per cent pay award.

Their pay is negotiated at national level between unions and the Association of Colleges.

A member of NATFHE at Oxford College of Further Education, who said that he did not want to be named because other colleges had sacked union representatives who spoke to the press, said: "It is not against the students, but we think that we deserve a decent rate of pay, especially here in Oxfordshire where the cost of living is so high."

John Kelly, vice principal and director of human resources and marketing at the college in Oxpens Road, said: "Only by sensible and factual dialogue will it be possible to address the significant imbalance in funding employment costs, which leaves college staff the poor relation of schools and universities."