LECTURERS and support staff facing compulsory job cuts at a North-East college are to stage a one-day strike.

Bosses at Newcastle College are planning to cut 120 jobs and impose new contracts to save £3.3m.

Classes are expected to be disrupted when about 500 members of Unison and the lecturers' union Natfhe stage the one-day action on September 25.

Unions say they expect 20 lecturers and 70 Unison members to lose their jobs, despite 55 voluntary redundancies that have already been identified.

A Unison spokesman said: "We asked the college management not to go ahead with compulsory redundancies because they have already made a lot of savings through volunteers coming forward."

Following a ballot last week, about three quarters of members from both unions voted for industrial action.

College officials say the restructuring will actually create 100 jobs. A spokesman said: "We are disappointed by the threatened strike action. Nevertheless, we will continue to talk to the unions in an effort to resolve the situation and to make sure the students are not disrupted unduly.