PCS members at National Museums Liverpool (NML) are in their fourth week of strike action, as they continue to fight for the £1,500 cost-of-living payment.
PCS rep at National Museums Liverpool
The strike started on 17 February and will run until 8 April – a full eight weeks. This is the first period of strike action we are participating in since 94% voted ‘yes’, with an incredible 69% of members taking part.
We fought last year along with 130,000 staff nationally in the civil and public sector, winning a pay rise of 4.5% and the promise of a one-off cost-of-living payment. We were proud to take part in this strike and endeavour to show this Tory government that we can coalesce myriad workers around the country against their programme of continued austerity.
At NML we have suffered a £6 million decrease in Grant Aid funding since 2010, clearly incapacitating the running of the museums and galleries through the inevitable redundancies which followed.
Of the 207 employers constituting the bargaining unit that took action in 2023, NML is the only employer which has not paid the £1,500.
We were surprised that NML had taken this stance, given that it ostensibly supports workers’ rights. Ironically, the only museum which NML can keep open during this eight-week dispute is the Museum of Liverpool, which focuses on social justice and the legacy of workers’ action – which, for me, is what makes Liverpool great. This exposes the egregious façade of this organisation.
Management stresses workers should be grateful for the rises that it has given us in the past – belying the impact of PCS in securing wage rises over the years.
Members at NML have been treated as if they are selfish, adopting a Tory pretext in order to diminish our rights.
We need all the help we can get to keep up the fight for what’s right. It’s been nearly a month on strike and the strength is palpable. Me and my colleagues commend the support so far and hope that it continues.
We cannot rely on empty promises and idle platitudes. The workers will pressure these bosses and will win! Solidarity to all workers!
Ellie, PCS branch chair, spoke to the Socialist in a personal capacity
“We represent staff covering the whole breadth of the workplace, including housekeeping, front-of-house and curation. Our members are lower paid than the sector average, and the living wage does not represent the cultural value of our work.
“Our members need this payment. One of our colleagues is a wheelchair-user and has been unable to service her chair due to the cost. We have staff members eating Weetabix three times a day because they can’t afford anything else! The bottom line here is that this cost-of-living payment is not a privilege, it’s what we are entitled to!”
