Museum guides' pay demands 'would jeopardise jobs'

More than 40 members of staff at the National Coal Mining Museum will go on strike

The National Coal Mining Museum has confirmed that 40 members of staff will strike due to ongoing disputes over pay.

The workers, who are mostly guides leading underground tours at the site in Wakefield, will walk out from Wednesday until 14 September, with further action planned if an agreement is not met.

Their union, Unison, said museum managers proposed an uplift of 80p an hour or 5% for all workers, whichever would be the greater, but this was an "inferior offer".

A spokesperson for the museum said it was "saddened" by its pay offer being rejected by the union, adding the industrial action meant its underground tours would not run during this time.

The spokesperson said that during the strike period, "the museum will remain open and continue to share the important history of coal mining with our visitors".

It added: "The majority of our workforce of over 100 people are not in Unison and do not support the industrial action.

"It is largely made up of the museum guides who deliver our underground tours. Only 28 Unison members out of the 39 who voted in the original ballot, did so in favour of industrial action.

"After further negotiations and serious consideration, mindful of the wellbeing of our wider workforce and our visitors, the museum proposed an increased offer to all staff of 80p per hour or 5%, whichever is the greater."

'Simply unaffordable'

The spokesperson added their offer would have equated to a pay rise of more than 6% for many of its workers, but it was "rejected" by the union, who "refused to share our revised offer with their members to see if they wished to accept it".

They went on to say that the museum also relied on external funding and donations and "continues to face considerable financial pressures".

"As a charity, our trustees feel this offer is fair and the counter-claim by Unison, which equates to over 8%, for many, is simply unaffordable," the spokesperson said

"It would jeopardise people's jobs across the organisation and threaten the long-term sustainability of the museum. That counter-claim was suggested by Unison as part of the negotiation process and was at no point agreed.

"It is our intention to keep an open dialogue with Unison, with the sincere hope that this offer along with the many additional benefits included will be accepted to benefit our staff as a whole."

Unison previously said the pay offer should be 5% or £1 an hour more, whichever is higher.

The union added that it met with museum managers through the arbitration service Acas on Friday with the hopes that a revised figure could be agreed to put to staff as this would have suspended the strikes.

Rianne Hooley, Unison Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser, said the offer from the museum showed "how little managers value staff".

"If museum managers actually care about their staff, they'll improve the offer. Unison is happy to meet right away to resolve this. That would allow families to enjoy the museum and its facilities throughout the summer holidays.

"But until they are willing to do so, staff have no option but to strike."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.