JEREMY Corbyn has offered his personal support to the Torfaen housing workers currently on strike over a pay dispute.

The Labour leader has praised the professionalism of the Bron Afon employees, who have been taking industrial action since July 13.

The row centres on their annual salaries being slashed by more than £3,000 – from £23,572 to £20,416 – leaving employees feeling “insignificant and worthless”, according to trade union UNISON.

Mr Corbyn’s intervention comes as the workers embark on their ninth day of protest outside the housing association’s offices today.

“I send solidarity to the striking UNISON members at Bron Afon Community Housing on their ninth day of action,” the MP said.

“We know how important you are to the Torfaen community, helping vulnerable service users stay in their homes and receive the support they deserve. I thank you for your dedication and the work you do.

“I urge Bron Afon to direct all its energies to resolving this dispute quickly and satisfactorily.”

Mr Corbyn also urged Bron Afon to support the work of Torfaen’s MP and AM Nick Thomas-Symonds and Lynne Neagle.

Both Labour politicians had previously visited the picket and have had discussions with the housing association on the issue.

A spokesman for UNISON has described Mr Corbyn’s intervention as “extremely significant” and that the union will be using the “supportive comments from a high-profile national political figure to put pressure on Bron Afon to resolve the dispute with a fair agreement”.

As previously reported, Bron Afon stated they were "disappointed" at the industrial action stating staff applied for the jobs and were given advance notice on salary changes.

Chairman of Bron Afon's board, Andrew Lawrence, released an official response to the trade union's recent letter.

He said: "I, as chair of our board and Mandy Eddolls, chair of our staffing committee, considered the contents.

"Unison’s comments do not represent the full picture. We will be responding directly to them this week and are firmly committed to continuing dialogue.

"We very much hope that this ongoing dispute is quickly resolved. The latest, very generous offer we have made, remains on the table and underlines our firm commitment to achieving this, within the budget that is available to us for this externally commissioned contract".