Thousands of college and university lecturers will be campaigning today against the growth of zero-hours contracts and a lack of employment rights in the education sector.

Zero-hours contracts mean that employees can be called in to work when bosses need them and left unpaid when their skills are not required.

The University and College Union (UCU) day of action aims to highlight how further and higher education are overly-reliant on casualised staff.

"Millions of students are taught by temporary teachers with little or no employment rights or job security. Three in five colleges and over half of universities employ teaching staff on zero-hours contracts," said UCU.

The union is encouraging members to write to their MP to highlight the use of casualisation and the problems it creates.

There will be meetings, stalls and drop-in sessions held at universities and colleges nationwide.

A social media campaign has been launched in which UCU members can log how they are affected by zero-hours contracts and casualisation.

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: "Students in colleges and universities would be horrified if they knew that many of those who teach them have little or no employment rights, no job security and that most of our ground-breaking research staff are without permanent contracts.

"We hope MPs will take note of what our members have to say about the issue. As we approach the election all the parties need to clearly set out what they will do to tackle the no-rights culture so many teachers and researchers find themselves stuck in."