7:20am Monday 6th April 2009
ON the day hundreds of Titanic enthusiasts came to Southampton, the city’s maritime museum was shut as council staff went on strike over pay and working hours.
On Saturday, union members formed a picket line outside the museum, near Town Quay, while the City Art Gallery and the Museum of Archaeology also remained closed.
The row is over a demand by the council’s Tory bosses that eight staff at the three attractions work Sundays as part of their contractual hours, rather than as overtime. Under the proposals, they would also no longer receive pay enhancements on Saturdays.
City leisure chief Councillor John Hannides said that the move would save “tens of thousands of pounds” and allow the gallery and museums to remain open seven days a week. Currently, the attractions close on Mondays.
However United union representative Terry Hinton, 55, said: “The council are asking the staff at the museums to work Sundays as part of their contract and give up their pay enhancements on Saturdays as well. That is just too much for our members to accept and the strike is a result of their voting.”
Unite leader Matthew Tipper said that staff had been instructed to work to rule, meaning that the gallery and museums would be shut every Sunday and Monday until the dispute is resolved.
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