Wakefield's National Coal Mining Museum staff to strike over pay

Union members will begin strike action on 26 October

Union members at the National Coal Mining Museum have voted in favour of taking strike action over pay, Unison has said.

Union officials said the Wakefield museum's pay offer was half the rate of inflation and while members did not want to strike "they had no choice".

Strike action will run from Wednesday 26 October to Sunday 30 October, Unison said.

The National Coal Mining Museum has been approached for comment.

Unison's Wakefield branch secretary Sam Greenwood said 94.4% of members, on a turnout of 87.8%, voted in favour of action.

"Members don't want to go on strike, but the museum is leaving them with no choice," he said.

The pay offer, he said, would leave many members struggling with the cost of living and some already relied on "in-work benefits and wage supplements because their pay is so low".

The Yorkshire Mining Museum opened on the site of the former Caphouse Colliery in 1988, but became a national museum in 1995.

It offers free admission and is funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.