LECTURERS including those at Abingdon and Witney College are to vote on strike action.

The University and College Union is balloting about 70,000 members in a row over pay and conditions.

The ballot on whether or not to strike opens today and closes on February 22.

The union said the dispute centred on universities’ failure to improve on the two per cent pay offer made at pay talks in May.

It said pay had declined in real terms by 21 per cent since 2009.

But the Universities and Colleges Employers Association said the union had already failed to gain support for action in a ballot in October.

A spokesman said: “We believe employees will be genuinely confounded by its decision to ballot again over last year’s pay outcome.”

Last year tens of thousands of students across the country suffered disruption to their exams after lecturers staged several strikes.

UCU head of policy Matt Waddup said earlier: “The college will face significant disruption unless it agrees to do more to address the pay and conditions of staff.”

Abingdon and Witney College is a further education college specialising in full-time, part-time and higher education courses and apprenticeships. The Abingdon campus is in Northcourt Road while the Witney campus is in Welch Way.