STAFF at Bolton College could take strike action over redundancies as the row over a £1.5 million bureacratic blunder rumbles on.

Members of the three main unions voted to hold secret ballots on industrial action at a meeting held soon after the first wave of redundancies were announced yesterday.

About six people have been told their jobs will be axed and staff are bracing themselves for more jobs losses over the next few days.

The ballots by the GMB, lecturers union NATFE and public sector union UNISON will be conducted over the coming weeks and most of the college's staff of about 400 will take part.

Union leaders blame the red tape blunder -which led to the college being forced to pay back £1.5 million in overpaid fees to the Further Education Funding Council - for the job losses.

Management say the two issues are unconnected and insist the jobs must go because the college has too many staff for the number of students.

UNISON spokesman Bernadette Gallagher said: "Our members are angry that even though the college may get a lifeline with extended repayments, the governors are not prepared to put off the announced redundancies.

"Over the past few years there have been many voluntary redundancies and staff are now doing the work of two or three people.

"They say they cannot continue to do this and they do not have confidence that the same management which allowed this to happen can put together an action plan to get the college on an even keel."

Governors chairman Cllr Cliff Morris said the unions had not yet informed him about the ballot and he did not want to comment without finding out more.

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