Management and union at odds over plans to outsource visitor services at the gallery

A fresh wave of strikes is to be launched by staff at the National Gallery in London in a row over privatisation of services.



Members of the Public and Commercial Services union will walk out this weekend and from Tuesday 24 March to Saturday 28 March, following two periods of industrial action last month.

The union has submitted proposals it believes would avoid a sell-off of the gallery’s visitor services but said management was pressing ahead with its plans to outsource work.

PCS officials said no other major museum or gallery has privatised all of its visitor staff.

The dispute was inflamed when one of the union’s senior reps, who was involved in talks, was suspended.

The PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: “Our plans would resolve the issues at the heart of this dispute so it is very disappointing that the National Gallery appears unwilling to discuss them.

“This privatisation is completely unnecessary and risks undermining the gallery’s well-earned reputation as one of our country’s greatest cultural assets.”