Alistair Hardaker | Image: By Qmin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
GMB union members at Brighton museum trust take second day of strike action against proposal to end National Joint Council employment terms.
Staff at the Brighton Pavilion and Museums Trust are taking their second day of strike action on Wednesday 15 April over a proposal to remove them from National Joint Council contracts.
GMB union members were outsourced from Brighton & Hove City Council in 2020 but retained their local government contracts, including pay, annual leave and other contractual rights.
Trust management have instructed staff to sign new contracts which would remove them from the NJC terms package. The union says this would leave members vulnerable to contractual changes.
The action follows a strike day on Saturday 4 April.
Declan MacIntyre, GMB Regional Organiser, said: “Our members have been clear that they will not sign away their contractual rights to sick pay, holiday pay and nationally agreed pay rises.
“Trust management now need to stop these ill thought out plans and agree to look at other cost saving measures, if indeed they are required.
“Our message to the trustees is that if they can’t run the buildings without taking money out of our members’ pockets, the contract needs to return to Brighton & Hove City Council.
“The buildings and collections need to be prioritised over everything and our members, properly remunerated and taken care of, are best placed to do this.”
Ahead of an earlier April 4 strike, Hedley Swain, CEO at Brighton & Hove Museums, said: “We are very sorry for any disruption caused to visitors, particularly over the Easter weekend. This is not a situation we wanted to reach.
“The reality is that the financial pressures we face are significant and we need to take responsible steps to protect jobs and keep our museums open long-term. We remain committed to working with staff and union representatives to find a way forward.”
