Front-of-house staff at Dulwich Picture Gallery, south London, are back at work after what began as a week-long strike begun on the morning of Friday 13 March ended with a draft settlement by the end of the first day out. Details of the settlement are not yet public, but a statement from the workers’ Save Jobs at Dulwich Picture Gallery Campaign indicated that negotiations with senior management had resulted in an “acceptable” agreement.
The strike was over management proposals to make 19 of them – half the front-of-house workforce – redundant. The gallery, which houses an outstanding collection of Old Master paintings and is also known for its equally outstanding special exhibitions, is seeking to save money at the expense of its staff. It wants to bring in new workers at wages as low as £2.73 an hour, using the government’s cheapskate apprenticeship scheme.
The move was set to replace knowledgeable and experienced staff with workers paid rock-bottom wages and engaged on casual contracts. The resulting damage to the service offered to visitors can only be imagined. And those staff retaining their jobs were to be made to sign contracts that would have forced them to work any hours stipulated by the management, without overtime payments.
“We love working at the gallery, we love the paintings and we love our visitors. We work hard to bring you the superlative customer service that makes our gallery so unique,” said a statement from the staff issued before the strike started.
“We believe the proposed redundancies are unjustified and unfair, and that they will ultimately jeopardise and damage the relationship we have developed with our customers throughout the years. We are united in our intention to fight the proposed cuts and ask for your support and solidarity.”