STAFF at a further education college in north-east England are being balloted for strike action over poverty pay rates, the University and College Union (UCU) has announced.

The two-week ballot, which closes on November 14, comes after bosses at Darlington College imposed a wage boost of just 1 per cent — plus a one-off £250 payment — in December 2021.

The union said that the deal had fallen “dramatically behind inflation,” with the retail price index rate currently standing at a whopping 12.6 per cent.