STRIKES at Bradford College scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday remain on, the University and College Union (UCU) said.

The union said it had hoped the college would come forward with a serious offer to avoid the disruption, but none has been forthcoming.

Staff will be on picket lines from 8am on both days outside the David Hockney Building at the Bradford College site on Great Horton Road.

The union says the dispute centres on the failure of colleges to make a "decent" pay offer to staff who have seen their pay decline by 25% over the last decade. The pay gap between schoolteachers and teachers in colleges is now £7,000. In the recent ballot, nine in ten (89%) of UCU members at Bradford College who voted backed strike action.

UCU members at 15 English colleges are walking out as part of a second wave of strikes after staff at six colleges took action in November. The pay gap between teachers in colleges and schools currently stands at £7,000 and around two-thirds of college heads have said pay is a major obstacle in attracting staff.

The union said further strikes were planned if the college refused to make a "decent" offer and that it could not hide behind government cuts if it wanted to avoid further disruption. UCU said the college should follow the lead of the Capital City College Group which recently agreed a 5% pay deal for its 1,700 staff.

UCU regional official Julie Kelley said: "UCU members at Bradford College are taking strike action because they have had enough of increasing workloads while their pay is eroded. The college has to prioritise its staff and come back to us with a meaningful offer. If it refuses then further strikes are on the cards."