Strikes at the Museum

The Public and Commercial Services union said 120 members at the National Museum of Scotland were due to take part in seven days of strike action over the removal of a weekend allowance from staff. The strike will begin on Monday. The action is part of a union campaign, now in its 18 month, to get the allowance reinstated for all staff working on a Saturday and Sunday. National Museums Scotland (NMS) withdrew the allowance for new staff. It resulted in two rates of pay for staff working weekends, those who get the allowance because they were employed before 2011, and those who do not.

The withdrawal of the allowance could reduce an individual's pay by £2,000 to £3,000.

Lynn Henderson, Scottish secretary of the PCS, said: "Our members are determined to win this dispute. It is heartening to note that the support is as strong with members who get the allowance as with those who don't. We call on NMS management and the Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop to right this wrong. It is one thing to say that you oppose austerity measures and low pay but when it's in your gift to do something about it, for relatively little money, the Scottish government choose to do nothing about it.”