The National Gallery in London is fully open again as warding staff returned to work on Monday 5 October after more than 100 days of strikes since February. Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) went on continuous strike on 11 August to protest against the gallery’s appointment of a private firm, Securitas, to manage visitor-facing and security services. The dispute led to a 35% drop in visitor numbers during the summer period as rooms were temporarily closed to the public.
The PCS said in a statement that members voted to suspend the action “pending ministerial approval and a [union] ballot” over an agreement with the gallery to guarantee conditions for employees transferring to Securitas. The gallery has also agreed to reinstate Candy Udwin, a union representative dismissed in May.
The gallery’s five-year £40m partnership with Securitas is due to go ahead on 1 November, a spokesman confirms. When it awarded the contract in July, the gallery said in a statement that the move would allow it to operate “with greater flexibility” as “part of its commitment to modernisation”. Staff will continue to be paid the London Living Wage (a voluntary minimum of £9.15 an hour calculated by the Greater London Authority), and there will be no job cuts.