Two senior political figures in Wakefield have called for the board of trustees at the National Coal Mining Museum to resign for their failure to resolve a long-running strike.
The leader of Wakefield Council Denise Jeffery and Normanton and Hemsworth MP Jon Trickett made the calls at a rally on Saturday in support of more than 40 museum workers, who have been on strike since August.
Since staff walked out in the summer, museum managers have put forward just one pay offer, which for many workers was worse than a proposal they’d rejected before the strike began.
A petition calling for the resignation of the board of trustees and chief executive Lynn Dunning has more than 3,000 signatures.
Both local politicians have already shown support for striking workers, with Denise Jeffery resigning as a museum patron last month and Jon Trickett raising the issue in Parliament*.
Speaking at the demonstration on Saturday, Wakefield Council leader Denise Jeffery said: “I have met with the chair of trustees and chief executive Lynn Dunning and asked them to get round the table.
“We’re talking peanuts to fix this. But I have a real fear they don’t want to do that.
“Mining and the museum mean the world to me. I’m calling on the trustees to step aside, let someone else take over, and we can sort it out.”
Normanton and Hemsworth MP Jon Trickett said at the demonstration: “The trustees should resign, because they’ve let the pit down. Let’s be absolutely clear, the manager of the pit ought to resign too.
“The use of so-called security to try to bully the strikers is completely unacceptable. The trustees are not fit for purpose.”
Jon Trickett addressing the demonstration.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Rianne Hooley said: “The National Coal Mining Museum is a site of national and international significance.
“The chief executive and the board of trustees are failing to do their jobs.
“They must step up and get the dispute unlocked, or step aside and let people who understand the value of the place do it instead.
“This strike is not just about fair pay for workers – it’s about protecting the future of the museum, and it’s really encouraging to have the support of two senior figures in the region.”
Notes:
*– During a Wakefield Council meeting on 26 November, Denise Jeffery said she had resigned as patron of the museum and that she doesn’t think senior figures at the museum want to settle the strike. The council also voted unanimously in September to withhold funding from the museum until the strike is resolved.
– Jon Trickett tabled a parliamentary motion about the strike in parliament in September and has met with the culture secretary Lisa Nandy to discuss the issue.
– The comments were made at a public demonstration in support of the striking workers in Wakefield over the weekend. More information is available here.
– The strike began on 20 August and is scheduled to run until the end of January 2026 unless there is a resolution.
– The most recent pay offer from the museum included a £1 an hour rise for ‘craftspeople’ (which the museum defines as fitters and electricians) and 5% for other staff. For many of the workers, this would work out lower than the 80p an hour increase previously suggested.
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