DINNER ladies plan to continue strike action after a proposal submitted to prevent them losing their jobs was rejected.

Nine dinner ladies at Ladywood Primary, Grimethorpe, face being made redundant after the school confirmed they were facing a budget shortfall.

Unison suspended industrial action from last Wednesday until Monday to put forward counter proposals. The trade union claimed that if the counterproposal was accepted, the school would have saved around £34,000 without any redundancies.

The union claims instead head teacher Claire Grainger put forward revised plans that would save more money than originally planned and result in the compulsory redundancies of four or five dinner ladies.

Unison area organiser Jordan Stapleton said: “We are incredibly disappointed that the school’s head teacher has rejected our alternative proposal to solve the school’s budget problems and avoid any redundancies.

“The school is intending to increase the number of teaching time by three days while there is already full-time five days a week teaching cover in each class. It’s completely unfair to be making valuable and dedicated teaching assistants and dinner ladies redundant, or cutting their pay, when the school can afford to be employing extra teachers.

“Above all else our members are concerned that the school’s plans will be bad for the children when our proposals would have kept all the teachers and support staff in post.”

A spokesman from Barnsley Council said: “We are in discussions with trade unions and we have nothing further to add at this stage.”