A strike by more than 40 workers at the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield has been extended until mid-October.
The workers, including mine guides who were part of the year-long miners’ strike four decades ago, began a four-week walk out last month in a dispute over pay.
However, the refusal of museum chief executive Lynn Dunning to return to talks has left no option but to extend the action further, says UNISON.
As well as putting forward a worse offer than previously tabled*, the chief executive has commissioned tens of thousands of pounds of spending on private security guards and alternative visitor attractions, the union adds.
The extra spending could have settled staff pay expectations several times over, says UNISON. And it demonstrates the chief executive’s determination to save face, rather than resolve the dispute.
Such behaviour is a clear failure of leadership, as she is actively choosing not to engage in talks, says UNISON.
The union wants the chief executive to either step up and engage in meaningful talks to bring the dispute to an end, or step aside and let someone else get it sorted.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Rianne Hooley said: “For staff at the coal mining museum, this isn’t just a job. It’s an opportunity to keep the area’s coal mining heritage alive through their storytelling.
“They’re desperate to be back doing what they love. But they want to be paid fairly, and treated with respect.
“If the chief executive continues to refuse to negotiate, staff have no choice but to continue their strike.”
Notes:
– The extension means workers will now be on strike until Sunday 12 October.
– UNISON has calculated that the museum will spend almost £50,000 on private security guards and a land train during the strike. No evidence has been provided to show this is not the case.
– In March, the National Coal Mining Museum put forward a 5% pay offer for all staff, which was rejected. A second offer was made in June via Acas talks of a £1 per hour uplift for mine guides and 5% for everyone else. UNISON said this had the potential effect of giving a greater pay rise to men (who make up the team of mine guides) than women employed elsewhere at the museum.
– UNISON suggested 5% or £1 per hour for all staff, whichever is greater, which the museum’s management said would be put forward as a pay rise suggestion to the board of trustees with a recommendation for acceptance. That was withdrawn 11 days later.
– *In a meeting via ACAS less than a week before the strike was due to start, museum management made an offer of 80p an hour or 5% for all workers, whichever is the greater, despite a previous pledge to recommend the museum’s board of trustees accept £1 an hour or 5%.
– The national minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over in the UK is £12.21, as of 1 April 2025. Mine guides typically earn around £12.86 an hour, and many staff are on £12.60 per hour.
– UNISON says the three highest paid managers at the museum are on a combined salary of around £250k. The pay gap between the highest paid employee and the lowest is thought to be more than £120k.
– The museum has made an operating surplus of more than half a million pounds (£596,659). It has also been in surplus for the preceding four financial years. The museum has £10 million in reserves. UNISON believes the £1 per hour or 5% option would only add approximately £150k to the existing pay bill, still leaving the museum with an operating surplus of more than £400k. The museum has provided no evidence to disprove the union’s calculations.
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