A FIVE-DAY strike is set to go ahead next week at Accrington and Rossendale College.

Officials in the higher education teaching union NATFHE confirmed at a meeting last night that industrial action would start next Tuesday and run to, and include, the following Monday.

About 90 per cent of teaching staff are union members and are expected to join the strike.

The row flared when 341 part-time staff received redundancy notices and were asked to sign with an employment agency if they wanted to continue working at the college.

Union members voted for industrial action through a postal ballot. A total of 105 papers were issued, 54 returned and the result was 47 to 7 in favour of action.

A NATFHE official said: "We expect a vast majority of teachers to strike, but we all still want to avoid industrial action."

College principal Mr Mike Austin said: "It was an extremely low poll. It's difficult to see how there's any mandate for a strike when less than a third of college staff voted in favour of industrial action."

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