SWINDON Science Museum employees will strike over pay today.

More than half of the 22 staff members from the Wroughton site will walk out over a two-year below-inflation pay rise.

A picket line is planned but the museum will be open as normal.

Workers at the Science Museums in Swindon and London, the National Railway Museum, in York, and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, in Bradford, backed strikes by more than two to one.

John Underwood, the National Museum Science Industry Prospect branch secretary, said more than a dozen staff at the Wroughton site would be striking.

He said: "The deal offered was the lowest of any heritage site in the UK.

"It's falling even below the spending trends set by the Treasury.

"We are asking for nearer a four per cent pay increase.

"I hope this demonstration will have an effect."

More than 200 curators, conservators, technical staff and managers are due to strike across the country.

A Swindon Science Museum spokesman said: "We are very disappointed that negotiations have broken down despite our very best efforts and flexibility on pensions and performance-related pay.

"Our pay awards compare very favourably with the levels in the wider public sector.

"We benchmark our pay rates and we know that staff are paid competitively.

"The negotiation process has been holding up the physical payment of salary increases dating back to April 2007.

"In the interests of our staff we will pay last year's pay rise in May's salary, and are able to pay this year's in June.

"Across all our sites we have a workforce in excess of 1,000 people and just 10 per cent of our staff have voted against the deal.

"We very much hope that no one will actually strike, but if they do the site will operate as normal."