University lecturers will begin a marking boycott on April 28 in a dispute over pay.

The University and College Union (UCU) said the "ultimate sanction" would be used because its members, who have participated in six strikes since October, have been continually ignored.

Alongside other academic staff, lecturers feel they have been treated with contempt by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which has offered them a meagre pay rise of 1 per cent - a substantial drop in real-terms pay since 2009.

Earlier this month the UCEA issued a statement claiming that pay increases in higher education were unaffordable and that "the pay and conditions for the lower paid are often amongst the best in our HE institutions' localities."

But UCU denied the claims and added that while university vice-chancellors make an average salary of £235,000, a recent Financial Times study showed that academics have gradually earned less and less over the last 40 years.

Young and temporarily employed members of staff are among those most affected.

University of Sussex lecturer Dr Maia Pal told the Star that the action was good news, "especially considering that strikes hit casual HE workers hardest and have, in the long run, discouraged many to continue active support."

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: "No member I have spoken to wishes to see this dispute escalate, but in the continued absence of meaningful negotiations from the employers, we are left with no alternative.

"The strong support for our action so far demonstrates how angry staff are at the hypocrisy over pay in our universities. The employers cannot plead poverty when it comes to staff pay and then award enormous rises to a handful at the top."

Student representatives were quick to support the boycott.

University of London Union vice-president Daniel Cooper said: "When thousands take home poverty wages and paltry benefits, and staff have faced cuts time and again - it is vital students offer their solidarity."

UCU added that if UCEA was available for negotiations in the next two months the boycott could still be withdrawn.