A UNION leader says teachers at a school have been forced to strike tomorrow.

Howard Roberts, secretary of the Kirklees branch of the NUT union, said members at Birkenshaw Middle had been `goaded' into the one-day strike. They still wanted to hold talks.

Last week, NUT members at the school voted seven to one in favour of taking action if issues could not be resolved.

Talks are going on at several schools across Kirklees over changes to pay structures regarding teaching and learning responsibilities.

Mr Roberts said the governing body at the Birkenshaw school had cancelled a meeting. This had led to the strike.

He added: "We have been forced into this by their intransigence. We were having sensible discussions."

A Kirklees spokes- woman said the council had been helping the school as much as it could during the talks. She said the NUT nationwide was concerned at the new pay structures.