Alistair Hardaker
Forty workers set to continue strike until June as museum and union disagree over pay
The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into the National Coal Mining Museum as a long-running pay strike enters its 11th month, with workers voting to extend action until June.
More than 40 workers who are UNISON union members walked out last August in a dispute over pay, and have been on strike since.
The strike was previously due to run until the end of this month, having already been extended three times. Workers have now been reballoted, and have voted to extend the action until Friday 26 June 2026.
Jon Trickett, MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, attended a rally in December in support of the museum’s striking workers. Trickett is understood to have asked the Charity Commission to investigate whether the museum is fulfilling its charitable purpose.
A Charity Commission spokesperson told Advisor it had opened a compliance case into the museum “to assess wider information about the charity’s governance and management, and determine any next steps.”
“In line with our guidance, the charity has submitted a serious incident report in relation to an ongoing pay dispute,” the spokesperson said. .
It added that the commission has made no findings, nor drawn any conclusions at this stage, and does not have a role in matters of pay or employment disputes, but assesses all concerns raised.
A museum spokesperson told Advisor it would continue to engage fully with the Charity Commission.
The museums spokesperson said the museum was “deeply disappointed” by the announcement of a possible extension to industrial action, “particularly given that our Charity recently met with ACAS to discuss a fourth pay offer and continues to engage in constructive negotiations.”
The union says senior managers at the museum have put forward one revised pay offer since strikes began last year. It claims that for many members of staff, the terms were “worse than a proposal rejected before the strike action began”.
The union claims that the most recent pay offer included a £1 an hour rise for ‘craftspeople’ (which the museum defines as fitters and electricians) and 5% for other staff, which would work out lower than the 80p an hour increase previously suggested.
The museum spokesperson said it has “consistently sought constructive dialogue and compromise in the hope of reaching a speedy resolution”, but has been “met with firm red lines that are unaffordable and unsustainable for the Charity”.
The spokesperson said its offers have been “significantly above inflation”.
“We remain committed to working collaboratively through ACAS to identify a positive way forward and sincerely hope this latest offer will be accepted and industrial action will come to an end.”
