Wakefield: Arthur Scargill joins picket line at mining museum

Former union boss Arthur Scargill has joined picketers outside the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield.

Mr Scargill, who was president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for 20 years, stood alongside museum staff after they walked out in a pay dispute.

Union officials said the pay offer was half the rate of inflation and members "had no choice" but to take action.

A statement on the museum's website said it had offered the maximum pay rise it could.

Posting on social media, Unison's Wakefield branch said it was "emotional" having Mr Scargill speaking to staff, many of whom are ex-miners who offer tours of the former Caphouse Colliery

The strike is set to last until 30 October.

Mr Scargill first came to prominence in the early 1970s, when he was involved in a mass picket at the Saltley Gate coking plant in Birmingham.

He went on to be elected president of the NUM from 1982 to 2002, playing a major role in the miners' strikes during the 1980s.

The Wakefield-based museum opened in 1995 following the closure of the colliery in 1988 and offers underground tours.

In a statement it said: "We value the contribution of our people enormously and the sum of the proposal takes us to the maximum allowed within the government pay remit."

The statement said the museum hoped the action would be quickly resolved, "particularly as the strike was timed for the school holidays".

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