The harsh reality of life for many FE support staff has been laid bare in a new survey by the union Unison.

A poll by the union, which represents 11,000 college staff, found that 12.7 per cent of them struggled to pay for food, with one in 50 forced to rely on food banks.

The survey also revealed that 16.3 per cent found it difficult to pay essential bills like electricity, gas and water, and 11.3 per cent struggled with their rent or mortgage payments.

Support staff are among the lowest paid in FE, but, given the variety of jobs that they do, the sector would struggle without them. Roles include training and assessment, technician roles, library services, facilities, administration, specialist learning support, curriculum support, catering, IT, data, finance and procurement.

It’s no surprise, then, that Unison’s college staff members were sent ballots asking if they’d like to take strike action or “action short of strike action”. The union recommended that its members vote “yes” for each option.

The desire to strike over pay and conditions is strong across the sector. Earlier this week, it was announced that lecturers at 16 English colleges will stage a two-day strike over pay.

Members of the University and College Union are planning to walk out on 29 January, and have warned that further action could take place if the dispute remains unresolved. The union said college bosses had failed to make a decent pay offer to staff, who - it says - have seen the value of their pay fall by 25 per cent over the past decade. Head of policy Matt Waddup said: “The government must take the blame for a failure to invest in further education, but colleges cannot hide behind these cuts to shirk responsibility for their staff.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “With the increasing disparity between school [and college] pay, we understand that unions feel this is the only way to get their voice heard. However, the major issue facing our sector is funding. We need to concentrate our collective energies on pushing the government for better investment in the sector, to allow colleges to properly reward their staff.

“In the meantime, colleges will now have to focus on ensuring that students and their studies don’t suffer as a result of any industrial action.”