National Gallery strike - end in sight?
October 1 2015
Picture: TAN
The new director of the National Gallery, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, held his first press conference yesterday, and a few interesting things emerged. First, it seems there has been a drop of 35% in visitor numbers over the summer (reports The Art Newspaper). And second, Dr Finaldi appears to have stated (as reported in The Guardian) that the Securitas contract will still go ahead, in November as planned:
Finaldi confirmed that the jobs will be outsourced to Securitas from November, but said he hoped for a smooth transition with no jobs lost, and all staff paid the London living wage. “I hope to see all our staff back to work as soon as possible, and to offer an open gallery to all our visitors.”
Today, the BBC reports that the PCS union has spoken positively of new talks with the Gallery. This is most unusual - the PCS' language has until now been brimming with hostility. Says the BBC:
A PCS union spokesman said talks with the National Gallery had made "good progress".
"We are very hopeful of a resolution shortly," he added.
Since the PCS has turned this strike into a campaign against any outsourcing and privatisation at the Gallery, it's hard to see how they can back down now without having stopped the Securitas deal from going ahead. I wonder what has changed.
