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Three school cleaners who went on strike over a pay dispute have been sacked after returning to work, just three days before Christmas.

Leslie Leake, Marice Hall and Karen McGee walked out for three months over a wage dispute after their contracts were transferred from the local council to a private firm.

The trio have secured the backing of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn , who slammed the outsourcing of their jobs, which he said is part of a "race to the bottom" in wages and working conditions.

And their local MP Jon Trickett said it "looks like Scrooge has been brought back to life from Victorian times."

In April, Kinsley Academy, the Wakefield primary school they worked for opted out of council control and became an independent academy.

Their contracts were transferred from Wakefield District Council to Barnsley-based C&D Cleaning Services.

But while they were paid £7.85 an hour by the council, they found they were only being paid £7.20 an hour by the contractors, due to an error in transferring their contract.

The cleaners also say the company made changes to their sick and holiday pay, though C&D Cleaning Services dispute this.

(Image: Getty Images)

The firm eventually agreed to reinstate their previous pay rate after the trio staged a three-month long walkout, and backdated it to their contracts being transferred.

They returned to work on December 9th, but were called into a disciplinary hearing on December 12th over a 'breach of contract.'

They were informed in a letter on December 22nd that they had all been dismissed.

The Mirror contacted C&D Cleaning Contractors for comment, but they had not responded at the time of publication.

Ms Hall told the Morning Star: “We are determined to fight on — we all are. And they’re not going to spoil Christmas for me and my kids.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "I am angered that three striking primary school teachers from Kinsley have been sacked. When I met them they explained how their wages were cut following the outsourcing of their contracts to a private company.

"Outsourcing is bad for our public services and workers. The cleaners' jobs must be brought back in-house with fair pay and conditions.

"The race to the bottom in wages and working conditions faced by huge numbers of workers right across Britain is a national disgrace and Labour would put a stop to it."

Labour MP Jon Trickett, the trio's local MP, said: "“With only days until Christmas, it looks like Scrooge has been brought back to life from Victorian times and ruined the festive period for three families in my constituency.

“Three women have stood up for their rights at work, three courageous women have been sacked. All they appear to have done stand up for their rights.

“Yet the experiences of the Kinsley Three - Leslie, Marice and Karen - are not uncommon. Our country needs better pay, better conditions and better corporate governance to make sure that all employees are treated fairly.

“It is also time that we stopped outsourcing services paid for by the taxpayer to rogue employers.

“I will stand by these three strong women during their appeal. Those in our community and throughout the country have shown a strong sense of solidarity throughout the dispute, which I hope will continue over the Christmas period.”

Helen Grantham, Assistant Chief Executive at Wakefield Council, said: “The Council recognises that there was an oversight in providing C&D Cleaning Services Limited with the updated and accurate employee liability information on the Local Living Wage.

"It had previously informed C&D Cleaning Services Limited of a Collective Agreement between UNISON and the Council for 2015/16 in February 2016. Unfortunately the Council did not then confirm, prior to the actual point of transfer, that the Agreement would continue into 2016/17.

"As soon as this was identified the Council made significant efforts to rectify the situation by providing details of the most recent agreement to C&D Cleaning Services Limited so that any issues arising regarding the Local Living Wage could be addressed.

“We apologise for this oversight and recognise that this, among other issues outside the Council’s control, has caused difficulty for all parties.”