Security staff at a Job Centre in York have taken part in a national walk out over pay - as some spoke of the abuse they face at work.

York G4S staff at Monkgate Job Centre took part in the strike on Friday, July 19 over a pay offer which their GMB union claimed was below inflation.

York workers said they had been left with no choice but to strike as current pay rates left them unable to afford their bills.

A G4S spokesperson said their offer was their best and last offer that recognised their essential and difficult roles.

Job Centres have remained open where safe despite the walk outs and benefit, state pension and other Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) payments have continued as normal.

Phone lines also remain open and anyone with an appointment at a Job Centre that has had to close has been informed.

Friday’s walk out comes as part of a dispute which first began in May.

G4S has offered staff a 6.5 per cent rise from April 2023 and an average of 9.3 per cent covering the period from December to April.

But GMB claimed that pay failing to keep up with high rates in inflation in recent years had left around 90 per cent of staff earning the minimum wage.

York worker Andrea Darlington said they wanted G4S to make an offer that amounted to a fair day’s pay.

Tony Jackson, who was also at the picket outside the Monkgate, said they had been left with no choice but to go on strike.

He said: “It’s a difficult job and we need a pay rise so we can pay our bills.”

Chris Rackham said G4S needed to get back round the table with the union.

The security worker said: “We take abuse and have to help vulnerable people in difficult circumstances.”

G4S’s spokesperson said they were urging GMB to present its current offer to staff.

The spokesperson said: “The offer is above minimum wage and inflation.

“We want to give our staff a pay rise and the GMB is holding this up.

“Our dedicated security colleagues do a great job and support an essential public service, sometimes in difficult circumstances.”

G4S claimed it has made 12 pay offers to staff since 2022 but the union has only put two of them to a ballot.

Friday’s strike and walk outs which are set to start from Monday, July 29 mark an escalation in the dispute between the union and G4S.

This week’s round of industrial action saw more than 1,500 workers walk out and a rally in London.

It saw workers gather outside the UK Supreme Court and the headquarters of the DWP and G4S.

G4S estimates walk outs in June and earlier this month accounted for around 30 per cent of its Job Centre security officers.

GMB National Officer Eamon O’Hearn said an offer from G4S that would give staff enough to live on would end the dispute.