National Gallery security staff 'treated with absolute contempt'
PCS members who work in security at the National Gallery in London are furious over potentially discriminatory two-tier staff facilities and a failure to offer the same backpay as gallery colleagues.
For their breaks and lunches, National Gallery staff have access to an award-winning ‘accommodation hub’ that is located in bright, airy rooms.
Meanwhile, dozens of our members on the CIS Security contract – the majority of whom are Black and Asian – are prevented from accessing the hub and using its heavily subsidised canteen.
Instead, they are restricted to a windowless basement area for their breaks – a glorified storage space that is dingy, dirty, and dark, an unfit place for staff to spend their rest time. Most dangerously, it is unventilated and accessible only by ducking under pipes.
The employer cites capacity concerns, but this would be negligible considering minimal staff usage in the evenings and weekends.
“We are treated with absolute contempt,” one member recently told us. Another said that the “lack of adequate space and quiet zones in an already congested and stifling basement area – one without windows or working air-conditioning – affects our wellbeing”.
Backpay issue
Last year CIS Security imposed the London Living Wage (LLW) on our members, but refused to backdate it. National Gallery staff all received backdated pay, including Visitor Service staff who were recently brought back in house after being privatised workers for years.
This refusal to backdate our members’ pay has only reinforced feelings of being ‘second class workers’ in their own workplace.
To make matters worse, the employer rammed through another pay offer in April (4%) without any negotiations.
On 1 July, PCS wrote to Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, demanding he intervene to ensure CIS Security respects their staff, complies with their legal duties and works with us to reach a resolution.
Forcing a largely Black and Asian workforce into the basement while a largely white National Gallery staff “enjoy fresh air, sunlight and decent break and food facilities” is, PCS wrote, “potentially discriminatory under the Equality Act 2010, and at odds with the National Gallery’s stated commitment to inclusion”.
PCS is still awaiting a response from the gallery’s director. In the meantime, the union is taking the employer to court for compensation on an unlawful inducement claim.
Legal proceedings
Because CIS Security has acted as if there is no union recognition agreement and made pay offers directly to staff without engaging in the required collective bargaining process, PCS is taking legal action.
The employer’s approach potentially amounts to unlawful inducement under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. It is a statutory duty for CIS Security to negotiate with PCS on staff pay and conditions.
PCS has attempted to engage the employer on these issues for six months. Since they have refused to do so, we have now begun legal proceedings to obtain compensation for our members.