The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union are claiming progress has been made in the bitter dispute between the National Gallery and their staff over the gallery’s privatisation plans.
The dispute began in July last year when plans to modernise visitor and security services at the gallery were first announced. The key point of disagreement relates to the appointment of private security firm Securitas to manage the visitor-facing services on a five-year contract reportedly worth £40m.
Staff have so far taken 106 days’ action including a ten-day strike in May following the sacking of union representative Candy Udwin.
In a statement, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka announced that the gallery’s new director Gabriele Finaldi has agreed to a new series of discussions to help resolve the situation.
Serwotka said: “I’m delighted to say to you that we have finally got a set of discussions with the new director that can allow us to be hopeful that we are now moving towards a settlement that all of us will find acceptable.
“But there can be no settlement without decent wages, without job security for the staff, without people being respected for what they do and without Candy Udwin being allowed to get her job back.”
Terms and conditions
Approached by a-n News for a statement, The National Gallery would not comment on the specific nature or timings of any discussions. The gallery did, however, confirm the nature of the deal currently on offer to PCS members.
They said: “All those staff affected will have the option to move to Securitas with the same terms and conditions (which includes their contractual place of work as the National Gallery – unless they themselves request to move to another location – and continued membership of the Civil Service Pension Scheme).”
The gallery added that modernisation will allow them to operate with greater flexibility, and provide a better service to its more than six million annual visitors.
They said: “The National Gallery is one of the last major national museums and galleries to take this step of appointing an external partner to manage these services. Securitas has a proven track record in security and visitor engagement roles within the arts and culture sector.”
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