College lecturers in Scotland will strike over a "lack of progress" towards equal pay.

Staff will take industrial action on March 17 in support of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) campaign for fair pay in all colleges.

A ballot of EIS members in colleges across Scotland found 87.6% backed strike action after a 61% turnout.

Ballots at three Glasgow colleges that have refused to sign up for the national bargaining process also returned overwhelming results in favour of strike action.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: "These are overwhelming ballot results, which clearly demonstrate the depth of frustration that lecturers are feeling over the lack of progress towards equal pay.

"Lecturers were promised a return to national bargaining, and clear steps to deliver equal pay in all colleges across the country. In reality neither of these promises has been delivered and lecturers feel angry and betrayed.

"These feelings have been reinforced by colleges abandoning the negotiations and imposing a pay uplift, while other colleges have refused to take part in negotiations at all. These emphatic votes for strike action are the result of broken promises that were made to lecturers."

Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said there were "no resources available" to increase staff pay.

She said: "Staff at all levels in colleges were offered a 1% pay rise, which is in line with other public-sector agreements, and this was accepted by three of the four trade unions in Scotland’s colleges.

"It is the best possible offer in the current difficult funding situation, because there are simply no additional resources available to finance a deal beyond that which has already been offered – and accepted by the other three unions.

"We are working with all stakeholders to resolve this issue as soon as possible to ensure that students face minimal disruption during the EIS action."