Strike closes Science Museum
The Science Museum in London is closed today as staff strike over a pay dispute.
Curators, managers and other employees say a 2.5 per cent pay offer is below inflation.
The strike has also affected the National Railway Museum in York and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford.
It was timed to coincide with the school half term holiday to have maximum effect: the Science Museum would have attracted about 10,000 visitors today.
Catherine Craig, negotiations officer for the Public and Commercial Services union, said she regretted the inconvenience caused to visitors.
But she added: “Faced with a pay offer that fails to implement previously agreed improvements and what amounts to a real terms pay cut for many, our members are left with no option but to strike.”
The museum will be open tomorrow as usual.
The director of the National Museum of Science and Industry, which covers all three museums affected, said he was disappointed by the strike but understood the reasons behind it.
“We are disappointed at the decision to take strike action,” Lindsay Sharp said.
“At the same time, we are sympathetic to the circumstances which have led many to consider this action necessary.”
He said the museums had raised the level of pay from “rock bottom” to one in the industry median.
But he claimed that consistent under-funding by the Government, coupled with free admissions, meant it was hard to balance the books.
“We simply cannot afford to improve upon the offer,” Mr Sharp added.
Hugo Swire, Shadow Arts Minister, said it was time for museums to be allowed to set their own admissions policies.
Mr Swire said: “The Government has not adequately compensated museums after the forced abolition of entrance fees, and many cannot now cope with increased costs. A Conservative Government would allow museums to decide their own admissions policy.”
Free museum entrance has helped to dramatically raise visitor numbers to the UK’s flagship museums.
Official figures, released in January, suggested that since the scrapping of charges to the UK’s national museums and galleries, visits have risen by 75 per cent, or six million extra visitors.
Speaking at the time, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said that “Free entry for everyone to our national museums is a cornerstone of this Government’s cultural policy. We believe that our collections are among the best in the world and that everyone should be able to visit, enjoy and learn from them, whatever their background.”
