University lecturers are set to strike this week over a national pay dispute.

Lecturers from Sussex University and the University of Brighton will join a rally in the city centre to protest over wages on Tuesday.

They say promises to improve staff salaries have been broken and believe extra cash pumped into the higher education system from top-up fees should be used to increase wages.

Students have already had lectures cancelled due to the strike action.

Staff at both universities could form a picket line and other services could be disrupted.

The strike has the backing of unions as well as MPs.

Worthing MP Peter Bottomley, Brighton Kemptown MP Desmond Turner and Brighton Pavilion MP David Lepper are among 124 who have signed an Early Day Motion lobbying for extra pay.

The general secretary of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), Sally Hunt, said: "Lecturers' pay has declined 40 per cent in relative terms over the past 20 years. Our claim is sensible, costed and fully merited.

"The only people who continue to procrastinate on the issue are the vice-chancellors and they themselves told Parliament they would be using the new money coming into the sector to sort out staff pay.

"The strike action should not be happening and it is up to the employers to make us an offer now to prevent further disruption."

A lecturer, who did not wish to be named, said: "Pay in most other industries is competitive and regularly reviewed.

"Lecturers do not seem to get the same treatment.

"Our pay has stalled. It takes a lot of hard work to be a lecturer and while the Government is keen to increase the number of students going into higher education, we have not seen a rise in our pay."

Staff are due to gather at the Pressure Point in Richmond Place at 2pm.

A spokesman from NATFHE, the college and university lecturers' union, said: "All those who make a stand over pay next week have our backing and we will continue to lobby for a fairer slice of the pie.

"Pay among our members is incredibly low given their status and the amount of hard work they put in.

"We need to see pay levels rise dramatically before we will rest on the issue."

Other colleges and universities across Sussex could also be affected by the walkout.

NATFHE said it was not aware of any others that had planned strike action but it could not rule out impromptu action.