Alistair Hardaker | Image: Brighton Royal Pavilion (CC by 3.0 Qmin)
Trust denies bankruptcy claims, with CEO accusing union of fabricating crisis over proposed contract changes.
Brighton Museum and Hove Museum will reopen as normal today as industrial action is paused, while the Royal Pavilion returns to full hours after operating on a reduced schedule yesterday.
Strikes began yesterday and were planned until Friday by GMB union members at Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust (publicly known as Brighton & Hove Museums), following two days of action in April. Preston Manor is closed today on its usual Thursday closure.
Strikes began over what the union described as proposed cuts to terms and conditions. It said Trust management had written to staff ordering them to sign new contracts “on inferior terms”, which it said would “pull the workers out of the NJC [National Joint Council for Local Government Services] bargaining group, putting under threat their access to agreed pay rises, sick and holiday pay and potentially more.”
The GMB union said a proposal presented on 27 May was rejected outright and the Trust’s previous offer withdrawn. The union had claimed that the Trust may be facing serious financial difficulties, potentially including bankruptcy, and that the lowest-paid staff are being made to bear the burden. It had called for an urgent meeting involving trustees and council decision-makers.
The Trust subsequently denied any risk of bankruptcy, calling the union’s claim “entirely false”. It said “[f]ar from being financially unstable, the independent trust model was specifically chosen by Brighton & Hove City Council to provide long-term resilience.”
It also said there are no reductions to basic salaries, with retained benefits including the Local Government Pension Scheme, premium weekend rates, bank holiday pay and sick pay. It said the move from national local government (NJC) pay awards to an independent, local negotiation model was an “unavoidable consequence of the conclusion of Brighton & Hove City Council’s five-year funding deal in March 2026.”
CEO Hedley Swain said the GMB union was “fabricat[ing] a crisis” and called their actions “disrespectful” to charitable trust staff.
Visitors planning to come on Friday 5 June are warned to check ahead as closures remain subject to change. Normal service is expected to resume across all sites on Saturday 6 June.
