LONDON (AP) — Striking employees at the Bank of England are wearing comical masks depicting Governor Mark Carney as they picket outside the institution demanding better pay.

The three-day strike — the central bank's first in over 50 years — comes after workers failed to reach a deal that would allow them to keep pace with inflation, which is now at 2.6 percent.

Some 40 workers, including maintenance and security workers, are carrying signs reading "Bank of England staff want fair pay," as they paced outside the building Tuesday.

An official with the union, Unite, Peter Kavanagh, said the workers had "been left with no choice but to take industrial action."

The bank says the number of strikers is small and it will "continue to operate as normal during this period."