FURNESS College staff have vowed to strike again if management will not accept their demands.

And they say they will not trade more pay for more hours - claiming that they are already overworked.

This is despite the college saying that although their funding is rising by 8.4 per cent, they have to provide 6.9 per cent more teaching hours in return.

Education bosses claim this means they can only offer a one per cent pay rise which striking staff in turn claim to be a huge real terms pay cut.

On the day at which inflation reached nine per cent, union bosses called it ‘insulting’ to be offered such a small rise.

UCU Northern Regional Official Iain Owens said: “Already our members top the unpaid overtime list.

“On top of teaching there’s tons and tons of marking to do.”

The protesters claim they are willing to be reasonable and negotiate.

Mr Owens said: “Usually, we would be asking for a pay rise to keep up with inflation, but we recognise that nine per cent is a lot higher than usual.

“We’re just looking for something to soften the blow.”

In response to Professor Andrew Wren’s, chief executive and principal of Furness College, assertion that it is ‘disappointing’ the strike day was chosen on the same day as a GCSE English exam, workers said they were being as accommodating as possible.

Staff had brought instruments and drums with them to the protest, but said they would not use them while exams were taking place inside the building.

Plenty of passing motorists were pipping their horns in support of the spectacle.

Mr Owens said: “We’re not seeking to stop students going in. We’ve chosen a quiet spot across the road from the college to keep to ourselves.”

One of the striking educators said: “We teach these kids every day, why would we want them to fail?

“The courses offered here are often taught, marked and assessed internally, you can’t fit that into a 35 hour work week.”

The main Furness College campus deals with a lot of vocational – rather than academic – courses, meaning that exams are often not sent to external bodies like GCSEs and A levels.

Union organisers say that the workers want to reach a settlement as quickly as possible, but they will not negotiate on the premise of signing up for more work.