Union members at five Teesside colleges have rejected the latest pay offer from the schools’ management.
Industrial action before the end of March is now being considered, the University and College Union (UCU) said.
It comes as strikes were held by staff at the colleges in January, as well as November and December, over calls for improved pay rise offers.
A spokesperson for the colleges said they were “disappointed” that UCU was considering further strikes and said that they had a “continuing” desire to bring the dispute to an end.
The colleagues involved in the long-running dispute are:
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Bede Sixth Form College
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The Skills Academy
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Stockton Riverside College
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NETA Training Group and
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Redcar and Cleveland College
They are all run by the Education Training Collective (ETC).
UCU is calling for a pay rise for staff for the 2022-2023 academic year.
ETC staff received a 3% pay rise for the 2022-2023 academic year, with a further 1% rise from May 2023.
An ETC spokesperson said this was higher than the Association of Colleges' recommendation.
But UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “It cannot be right that staff on as little as £23k are being offered 3.25% in totality for 2022/23, when in the same year ETC’s principal raked in a total package of over £300k.”
Separately, the ETC has offered a 6.5% pay rise to staff for the 2023-2024 academic year, which they said was in line with the Association of Colleges' guidance.
