Visitor and security services staff at the National Gallery, London, have today returned to work following an agreement with the gallery over the terms of a new private contract for their employment.
The agreement also secures the return to work of union rep Candy Udwin who was suspended and then dismissed from her post earlier this year over claims that she had shared information about the private security contract with another union official.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) have been engaged in the dispute since July last year, when the gallery announced proposals to privatise the jobs of up to 400 of its 600 staff. The first strike action was taken in February 2015, with around 200 staff on indefinite strike since 11 August.
As strikers marked their 100th day of action in September, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka announced that the gallery’s new director Gabriele Finaldi had agreed to a series of discussions to help resolve the situation.
Following a unanimous vote to return to work, Serwotka said: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement and on behalf of the union I would like to pay particular tribute to Candy Udwin, who is looking forward to returning to the job she loves, and to all our members at the gallery.
“We still do not believe privatisation was necessary but we will work with the new company and the gallery to ensure a smooth transition and, importantly, to ensure standards are maintained at this world-renowned institution.”
The new contract, with the private security firm Securitas, will now be introduced on 1 November.
The agreement guarantees that terms and conditions for transferring staff cannot be changed without the approval of the union and that terms and conditions for newly recruited staff will be broadly comparable with those of existing gallery staff. The National Gallery has also agreed to review the new contract after the first year.
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