Contractual changes introduced by Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG), including the National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House and the Royal Observatory, have prompted members of the Prospect union to take strike action.
Front of house staff, sales assistants and their team leaders are affected by changes which mean no paid breaks and wages falling below the national minimum from April, according to Prospect, which represents more than 3000 employees in the heritage sector.
Talks with NMG have failed, and some staff feel they are being forced to accept changes they do not want. Tris Spencer, visitor assistant and Prospect representative said: ‘we’re not valued as front-line staff, we’re looking for better working conditions, while they’re looking at like-for-like institutions with no perks’.
Union members have been handing out flyers and picketing outside museums in an effort to win public support.
However, RMG has pointed out that ‘After consultation, the majority of the Front of House team agreed to the new terms and conditions, as did all the security officers, cleaners and porter messengers’. Management’s spokesperson went on to say: ‘One of the many proposals on the table was to pay net weekly hours rather than gross which is common within UK industry and included maintaining annual salaries at existing levels. This increased hourly rates of pay and proved an immediate benefit to some part time staff and those working overtime with no adverse impact on annual salaries.’
Prospect hopes that talks with management will re-start ‘to reach a deal that will help RMG reach their goals without worsening the conditions of its hard-working and dedicated staff.’
