STAFF at a Bradford museum have gone on strike over a below-inflation pay rise.

Prospect union members in the Science Museum Group (SMG) walked out of their office at Bradford Science and Media Museum today after bosses failed to make a long-term commitment to cost-of-living pay, and offered no improvement on this year’s pay rise.

Earlier in the year SMG imposed a below-inflation pay rise of 1.5 per cent for most staff - the latest in a series of below-inflation pay rises which have left workers with a significant real-terms pay cut of 10 per cent since 2011.

Members voted to reject that deal and subsequently voted overwhelmingly for industrial action.

Mike Donald, a negotiations officer at Prospect, said staff went on strike because they feel strongly about the situation, but "absolutely love the museum and love what it does for the city."

Ellie Groom, a curator at the museum, has worked at the museum for three and a half years, and wants more done to support the front of house staff who are paid the least.

She added: "What we want to do is generate the living wage for everyone who works here.

"What we are trying to do with strike action is make sure there is a level playing field.

"People should work here without worrying about having to make ends meet."

Sharon Brown, from Prospect, added: "Our members in SMG love their jobs but they cannot carry on with year after year of uncertainty and real terms pay cuts. It is clear from the accounts that SMG can afford to pay a reasonable wage. It’s time for management to sort this out so our members can get on with the jobs they love.

“We are encouraged by the way negotiations with the Science Museum Group have progressed but we are still well short of a long-term commitment to paying the Real Living Wage. Paying the Real Living Wage next year is welcome but means that for several months, hundreds of workers will still be earning less than they need to survive.

“SMG has some of the highest profile museums in the country and it is ludicrous that they won’t just start paying all their workers enough to live on, and commit to doing so in the future.”

According to Prospect, management has agreed to address paying the Real Living Wage to staff at the lower end of the payscale next year.

The industrial action concerns Prospect members all over the country, and included strikes going ahead at the National Science and Media Museum, in Bradford; Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry; the National Railway Museum, York, and National Collections Centre, in Wroughton, Wiltshire.

A spokesperson for the Science Museum Group said all the museums remained open while strike action was taking place.

They added: "Our pay offer included a 6.9% increase for the lowest paid employees as part of a settlement that saw all employees receive an increase of at least 1.5%. Overall the settlement represents a 2.7% increase in salary costs, which we believe was a reasonable offer, given the challenging overall financial picture.

"Following discussions with Prospect Union, we have committed to reach the Real Living Wage / London Living Wage from 1 April 2020, which will involve a further significant pay rise on top of last year’s increase of 6.9% for colleagues on the lowest salaries."