Tate staff hold week-long strike over pay amid reports of workers using food banks
Union says ‘insulting’ below-inflation pay rises have left some employees struggling to afford rent and food
Staff at Tate sites in the UK are staging a seven-day strike over pay and conditions at the arts institution, with some saying they have had to resort to using food banks.
The strike is scheduled to run until 2 December and coincides with the opening of Tate Britain’s Turner and Constable exhibition.
On Thursday, the second day of the strike action, staff on a picket line at Tate Britain held signs that read: “Treat staff like art! Handle with care”; “Goodwill don’t pay the bills”; and “Director’s bonus = my salary”. Another placard, styled as a Guardian review, read: “Tate Gallery review – a portrait of the staff in turmoil”.
At Tate Britain’s main entrance, a notice warned visitors that while the galleries were open, “some spaces may need to close at short notice”.
Staff outside said two restructures in five years, redundancies and below-inflation pay rises had badly damaged morale.
Susete Almeida, the chair of Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union at Tate Britain, said there was anger about the fact the gallery had offered below-inflation pay rises two years in a row, at a time when many staff were struggling financially.
“They can no longer afford their rent, members are on universal credit and some are using food banks,” she said.
A Tate spokesperson said Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Tate St Ives were open as normal. However, Tate Liverpool, which was closed for renovation works and operating out of the RIBA building, was forced to shut as a result of the strike action.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
“It is only by creating and maintaining a sustainable financial model that we can continue to invest in our staff in the long term.”
The strike followed a ballot by the PCS, in which 98% of members voted for action on a turnout of more than 87%.
Workers have been offered a salary increase of between 2% and 3%, but PCS said it considered that “inadequate” in a period of “rising living costs and concerns about endemic low pay”.
The union called the offer “insulting” and demanded an above-inflation pay rise as well as the return of staff benefits – including a canteen and subsidised meals. There is also anger over the institution’s decision to withdraw access to the civil service pension scheme for new starters from 2021.
A PCS member, who works in the library and archive at Tate, said: “I think it’s absurd that a director’s bonus is equivalent to my yearly salary. A lot of us are struggling to cope with rising rent and food prices.”
A sculpture conservationist, who asked to remain anonymous, said people have been driven out by low wages. “People look at our jobs and say it must be amazing to work with these works of art, and it is, but it’s not a hobby,” they said. “We still have rent to pay, mortgages and bills. And our pay is going down every year, so it’s hard to sustain.”
A front-of-house employee said: “Our canteen served us subsidised hot food, and some of the people who work here are on such low wages that that was their only hot meal of the day.”
PCS is one of three unions that represent staff at the galleries. The Guardian understands that the other two have accepted the pay deal, but PCS members have a significant presence across the organisation.
The strike could cause operational disruption in the lead-up to Christmas. If an agreement is not reached, the Guardian understands that the action could linger into the new year, potentially affecting exhibitions such as Tracey Emin’s Tate Modern show opening in February.