Staff at Liverpool’s Tate gallery will walk out on strike tomorrow (Nov 26th) as part of a dispute about pay.
Gallery workers who are part of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) will stage a week-long strike until December 2nd, joining union members across all Tate locations around the UK. They argue that pay rises have been inadequate and not in line with inflation.
The Tate Gallery in Liverpool is part of a larger collection of art galleries across England including the Tate Modern in London. It opened in 1988 by Price Charles and has since housed multiple prestigious events including the Turner Prize awards.
A 98% majority voted for the strike, with a turnout of 87.72%.
Kathryn Cook, a representative of the PCS Tate Galleries since 2023, said: “In the past five years alone, Tate Galleries employees have had to endure three separate rounds of redundancies; the removal of the Civil Service Pension benefit for new starters; and the removal of staff canteens – a key benefit for London-based staff. With our job security seemingly under constant threat and the persistent erosion of pay and benefits, staff across the organisation have decided enough is enough.”
She said that pay negotiations “resulted in an abysmal offer from the employer” which represented a real-terms pay cut for union members.
Adding to this, she described that the majority of the workload in the galleries fell upon the front-of-house workforce, and that it is unacceptable for these “essential” employees to face a pay cut “whilst, in 2024, directors at Tate have received five-figure bonuses and total remuneration packages more than 12x higher than their lowest-paid workers’ salaries.”
Along with hoping that cut benefits such as a staff canteen and subsidised meals will return, she added: “It is our sincere hope that Tate will be willing to re-open pay negotiations and improve their offer.”
If this is not the outcome of the week-long strike, and senior leaders at the Tate Galleries do not “do the right thing”, Ms Cook warned that there may be “further periods of strike action”, saying that employees should at the very least expect “a pay increase that will keep pace with the rate of inflation”.
An offer of 2% and 3% has been rejected by PCS members across England according to the International Council of Museums.
A Tate spokesperson said: “Tate has made careful savings this year in order to invest in staff pay and still achieve a balanced budget. This includes a 3% salary increase for most roles – including all employees on the lowest three pay bands – while Directors are taking a 0% increase to help balance the overall costs. Two of the three unions at Tate have accepted this offer. It is only by creating and maintaining a sustainable financial model that we can continue to invest in our staff in the long term.”
Due to the strike, disruptions to the Tate Galleries are expected, including the opening of the major Turner and Constable exhibition at Tate Britain on the 27th November, reduced services at all Tate locations, and potential closures or changes to opening hours.
