UK
Museum security guards have watched their pay stagnate while bosses rake in the profits
Strikers on the picket line at London museums
By Judy Cox
Tuesday 26 November 2024
SOCIALIST WORKER Issue 2933
Striking security guards at the Science and Natural History museums in London held lively pickets last Saturday.
They whistled and chanted and waved placards which read, “No longer invisible” and “When migrants rise, we all rise”.
The strikers, who are members of the United Voices of the World union, have struck for six days after a 96 percent vote for strike action.
Striker Jukub told Socialist Worker, “We are fighting for fair pay. I have worked here for 20 years, and our pay has been going down and down.”
The security guards, many of whom are migrant workers, oversee the safety of thousands of visitors and protect priceless artefacts.
They regularly deal with medical emergencies and security issues.
Striker Michelle said, “We are on strike for three things. We want £16 an hour because our pay has not kept up with the cost of everything. We want sick pay from day one. And we want five weeks’ holiday a year.
“I started working in the Science Museum back in 2000. We were all outsourced in 2011. I kept the same pay and conditions, but new workers have worse contracts. I took redundancy and came back part time, so my conditions changed too.
“In September, we got a pay rise—from £11.95 to £13.15 an hour. But it wasn’t backdated and it’s not enough. We want our employers, Wilson James, to talk to us.”
While security guards’ wages rose just 1.2 percent between 2019 and 2021, contractor Wilson James saw profits rocket to £7.6 million.
Juma Ssempijja is a union rep. He said, “We are fighting for fair pay. We are underpaid, but the company we work for has doubled their profits. Inflation goes up but our wages just stagnate.
“More than 80 percent of the security guards are in the union but the management refuses to talk to us. That’s why we are making a noise, so the Science Museum can hear our cries and come to the table.
“Now we are standing up, everyday people are joining us. And we are getting positive feedback from other security guards. The guards at the Victoria and Albert Museum are talking about joining us.
“People feel the pressure, but they stay quiet. When you join a union, you come together and that lifts everyone up. The energy grows.”
Housing and care workers are on strike
Workers are taking action in the West Midlands, Merseyside and Plymouth
Workers from Plymouth’s Independence@Home service protest at the council offices
Around 100 workers employed by Citizen Housing in Coventry struck on Monday after bosses made them a derisory pay offer—and they plan to be out again on this Friday.
They were joined on strike by colleagues in Birmingham, Hereford and Worcester.
The Unite union members voted in October for strikes over pay. Citizen Housing initially offered a 4 percent pay rise, and recently added a further one-off payment of £250. Workers rejected the derisory offer in a ballot by 73 percent.
As well as pay, workers are angry over the hypocrisy of Citizen Housing bosses.
They gifted themselves a 6.5 percent pay rise, despite already being paid over the industry average.
The mood on the picket line on Monday was defiant, and workers are considering escalation over Christmas and into January.
Thanks to Sean Leahy
Send messages of support to raymond.mcgonigle@unitetheunion.org
Merseyside strikers are Livv-id
Striking repair, maintenance and call centre workers at Livv Housing in Knowsley, Merseyside, are witnessing the impact of their action.
The Unite union members walked out in October after rejecting a 5 percent pay rise that doesn’t cover years of real terms pay cuts.
Livv Housing manages over 13,000 properties but is struggling to keep up amid the strikes.
The walkout has caused customer service delays and a backlog of repair and maintenance jobs that have resulted in pre-organised callouts being delayed.
Livv Housing has brought in third party contractors to do repairs, but workers are now having to fix the potentially unsafe repairs performed by the contractors.
The strikes are set to end this Sunday, but workers have warned of further action if Livv does not solve the dispute.
You owe us quarter of a mil, says union
Nearly 50 essential care workers for Plymouth council began strikes on Monday.
The Unite union members who work for the council’s Independence@Home service are on strike over disgraceful management practices.
Since the service was brought back under council control in 2019, it has recorded the gaps between workers’ home visits as “downtime”. But the carers rightly insist this is working time.
Unite believes that, collectively, workers are owed anywhere up to £250,000, and carers are now demanding financial compensation.
Workers are on strike this week, and for a week again beginning on Monday 23 December.
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