SOME 250 people gathered on the steps of Wakefield Cathedral on Saturday to show their support for the striking workers at the National Coal Mining Museum for England at nearby Overton.

Workers at the museum, which features underground tours at the old Caphouse colliery site, have been on strike for a total of 108 days in a dispute over a pay deal that was agreed and then reneged on by the museum.

Among the speakers at the rally was Wakefield Council leader Denise Jefferies, who recently stood down as a patron from the museum because of its intransigence towards its workforce and meaningfully trying to resolving the dispute.

The 40 Unison members have now voted to extend the strike until the summer of 2026 following members rejecting a recent pay offer.

The museum has recently employed contractors to carry out repairs to the playground: work that striking staff would normally carry out for no extra money while on shift.

The striking union members say that putting the money into resolving the dispute would be a far better use of public cash than hiring external companies to do work that staff would ordinarily be happy to take on.

Ahead of the rally, Unison regional organiser Rianne Hooley said: “This strike is about fair pay for workers at the museum. But it’s also about protecting the history of coal mining, which is a central part of this country’s heritage and particularly in West Yorkshire.

“Chief executive Lynn Dunning and the board of trustees are responsible for a national museum dedicated to coal mining: treating former miners with such disrespect is the total opposite of what the museum is all about.”

The museum was contacted for comment.