A UNION has launched its first ever pay campaign for a wage rise for vicars. The MSF wants a 50 per cent rise for "dog collar" workers to bring their wages up to £24,000 a year.

JEREMY RICHARDS talks to an East Lancashire clergyman to find out how he spends his daily bread and why he supports a wage rise.

THE Rev Kevin Arkell (pictured) and his family run two cars and take holidays abroad.

But without his wife's income and the help of his parishioners Mr Arkell, area dean for Blackburn with Darwen, admits he would struggle to make ends meet.

He is not alone. Married clergy with young families are finding things increasingly difficult. Which is why Mr Arkell cautiously supports a call for a rise in vicars' wages, known as their stipend.

The MSF union is calling for the national stipend for vicars to increase from just over £16,000 to £24,000. While Mr Arkell says that figure is "ridiculous" he does have sympathy for those who are backing a pay rise.

"I think the stipend is reasonable for clergy who are single or those who have older families who have moved away," said Mr Arkell. "But for married clergy with young families it is very difficult. My impression of clergy in this area is those that have families have to have a second income." Mr Arkell, team rector with responsibility for St Peter's, Darwen, and St Paul's, Hoddlesden, was ordained in 1984. He trained as a social worker and youth and community worker before joining the the Church of England. "I was ambitious as a social worker," he said. "I would probably have been on more than £30,000 now. I certainly would be on more than a clergyman even if I had stayed on the basic scale in social work. No one goes into the Church to be rich. If I were a single person I would have no complaints with the stipend but I think it is on the low side for married clergy with a family. "The stipend is designed to keep clergy free from financial worries, not make us rich. I think most clergy who are married have a wife who is working. The difficulty we face is that if we are moved to another parish that second income is lost."

Mr Arkell's wife, Hilda, is a teacher at Rishton Methodist Primary School. Her wage allows the family to run two Vauxhall Astra cars, both over three years old. "My car is not a luxury, it's a necessity to do my work," said Mr Arkell.

Clergy also have a house provided for them, but even that is not all it seems, he added. "I work from home and I am on call 24 hours a day," he explained. "I have to pay for heating and lighting. If you work in an office you get a desk and computer provided but I had to pay for mine out of my own money."

Mr Arkell has two daughters, Catherine, 17, who is studying at St Mary's College, Blackburn, and 19-year-old Jennifer, who is studying history at Durham University. He gets four weeks' holiday a year. "A lot of clergy rely on holiday grants from charities to afford to get away, which I think is a sad situation," Mr Arkell said.

The problem clergy face is that any rise will have to be met by their parish, and £16,000 is often more than most parishioners earn.

"I think if vicars were campaigning to get a pay rise they would upset their parishioners but I'm in a position where my pay is set by other people," said Mr Arkell.

"I wouldn't want to be seen to be campaigning for money because you are there to provide a service to the community. We need to look at what we can afford to pay. We need to take a gradual approach to the whole issue."

The Church of England is looking at the MSF's demand and the issue of clergy pay.