REVOLUTION is brewing, in the most unlikely of places, as staff walked out last Friday from the British Museum’s cultured halls to strike.
Determined to secure a living wage and respect from the museum’s management, the museum’s workers joined forces and brought their leaders and unions out.
Both the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) – with members covering visitor, security, technical, cleaning and portering services, and Prospect – which represents scientific, curators, conservators, museum assistants, photographers and designer staff at the museum took a stand, while members of other unions joined in support.
Industrial action was also taken by workers at the National Gallery.
In its ‘Support your Heritage – Back Museum Workers’ leaflet, Prospect explained that its members walked out in protest at the ‘contemptuous way their pay for 2007 has been handled’.
‘Although the dispute is formally with the Museum management, the Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) bear much of the responsibility as they set the pay limits and influence the pay timetable for the Museum.
‘The Museum was told by DCMS/ exactly how the offer was to be presented, leaving no scope for negotiation with the recognised trade unions which represent staff and was imposed despite being overwhelmingly rejected by union members.
‘The Treasury/DCMS refused to allow the Museum to make an offer for a pay increase due on 1 April 2007 until mid-March 2008.’
The 2007 offer was substantially below the rate of inflation which was 4.5% on the due date, while many long-serving staff would not get the derisory 3.5% increase but worse, only 1.6%.
Richard Plumridge, security for the museum’s treasures, and Unite member said: ‘I joined the picket because I agree with what the other unions are doing. Unite should join with PCS and Prospect, against what is now government pay cutting.
‘The Labour Party are now trying to do the same to the unions as Thatcher, like when she said the unions couldn’t have a closed shop any more.
‘Why are all our unions giving the Labour Party money just in order for them to rip us off?
‘We have to speak to our full-time officers and say why are you paying them union money?’
John Baldock, PCS Branch Chair at DCMS headquarters said: ‘I’ve come to support my PCS and Prospect colleagues over another derisory pay offer which has forced our members to take industrial action.
‘We have to keep up the pressure and fight for fairness. We have no choice.
‘Brown and his ministers will have to sit down and talk or action will continue.
‘We are not to blame for any of this economic crisis, but we are being forced to pay for it. We shall keep it up until he sees sense, or until there is an election.’
O’Neil Thomas, PCS, a security guard at the museum said: ‘I support the union fighting for a just cause.
‘Brown should take into consideration that we cannot afford to accept these conditions. It is our future that is at stake. Someone needs to do something.
‘They are smashing us working class people. What Brown has to offer isn’t changing things for the good.
‘We just want to be treated fairly and do the job. Not only are our heads dropping but everything is going sky high and we are still down there.
‘Not only do we working class people make the rich get richer, we have to do whatever has to be done to make the poor get rich also,’ Thomas said.
Both leaders of the two unions who called the official action were outside the Museum on the picket lines supporting their members.
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of PCS told News Line: ‘Both our unions have walked out in protest against a management that refused to talk to the unions and insists on a below-inflation settlement.
‘This is all part of Gordon Brown’s pay restraint against public sector workers and we as a union will be encouraging all our members to join the local government workers taking strike action on 16th July.’
Alan Leighton, National Secretary of Prospect said: ‘This is a very clear issue. While British Museums’ management agreed to meet our demands, they have experienced strong interference from government and even had to protest to the Treasury about the way the issue has been treated.
‘We are not doing this because we want to be political but government has delegated pay negotiations to the British Museum management. If they then remove “pay delegation” then in effect, we are having national pay negotiations.
‘The result is that this is the fourth museum this month to come out in strike action against the delay in implementing the 2007 pay rise which was due in April 2008.
‘Action has already been taken by our members at the Museum of London, Science Museum, the National Railway Museum and the National Media Museum
‘The way the Treasury is working is helping to bring the unions together nationally in dispute.
‘Our members remember that things were awful under the Tories, but things did not improved greatly in relation to pay under previous Labour governments, and it continues.
‘We are not a politically affiliated union, but the anger of our members is such that the government has to be very careful. Our members know it’s government interference and it is making people react against them.’
