Tuesday’s national strike of college lecturers, members of the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (Natfhe), is believed to have affected some 290 further education colleges in England and Wales.

Some 30,000 lecturers are believed to have taken part in the action which resulted in classes being cancelled and thousands of students staying away.

Other classes and college support services are believed to have been disrupted with members of other unions refusing to cross picket lines.

A striking lecturer in the north of England told HR Zone that college lecturers’ pay had been squeezed for years and that many lecturers were at “breaking point”.

“The situation is not going to disappear”, said the sociology lecturer, “we are giving them a day of chaos”.