A day of action against plans to privatise jobs at the National Gallery is taking place today (19 January), with a demonstration planned for 6pm outside the gallery in Trafalgar Square. Also planned is a Twitter campaign that hopes to ‘bombard the National Gallery Twitter account’.
It was announced in July that that up to 400 of the 600 jobs at the gallery could be outsourced to a private company as part of a series of moves designed to reduce costs.
The day of action comes as staff are being balloted by the PCS union for strike action over the gallery’s proposals. If staff vote ‘yes’ in the ballot, which closes on 23 January, the PCS says there are likely to be ‘several days of consecutive strike action in February’.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka has said of the National Gallery’s plans: “This reckless sell-off plan risks damaging the worldwide reputation of what is one of the UK’s greatest cultural assets, and we are determined to stop it.”
Change is essential
In a lengthy statement issued to staff on 9 January, National Gallery director Nicholas Penny defended the moves, saying: “If the Gallery is to continue to thrive as a public entity with reduced public money, change is essential. There is no option that allows everything to stay the same.”
Penny refuted claims that the private sector employees will not receive sick pay or that gallery assistants will be put on zero-hour contracts, saying that “neither is true”.
He continued: “The next three months are important for all of those employees who may be ‘in scope’ for transfer to a chosen partner. We have until 31 March 2015 to confirm or amend any existing terms and conditions before they are communicated to potential partners as part of the bid process.”
Last autumn, the private security firm CIS was used by the gallery to staff the blockbuster Rembrandt exhibition. The PCS is now claiming that the same firm has been given work in the gallery’s Sainsbury wing, without any tendering process.
A petition against the National Gallery plans currently has over 37,000 signatures.
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National Gallery staff organise exhibition in protest at privatisation
