Staff who are on strike at the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield could vote to continue the walkout into the summer of 2026.
More than 40 workers have been on strike since mid-August in a long-running dispute over pay.
During that time, senior managers at the museum have put forward just one pay offer. For many of the staff on strike, the terms of that deal were worse than an offer rejected before the industrial action began.
The strike has been extended three times so far, and is now due to run until 28 January 2026. But staff are now being asked whether they want to extend that date further.
UNISON says there would be no need to extend the strike again if the museum’s chief executive, Lynn Dunning, returned to negotiations with an acceptable offer.
Her failure to do so to this point, and the failure of the board of trustees to intervene, demonstrates a clear lack of leadership at the very top of the national museum.
UNISON says this is why senior political figures have spoken out so openly against the chief executive and trustees, calling for them to step down.
UNISON Yorkshire and Humberside regional organiser Rianne Hooley said: “These workers have a long history, a proud legacy of defiance. They will not accept injustice, they will not accept unfairness.
“We’re going to carry on this strike for as long as it takes.
“If we don’t get a settlement before this strike mandate ends at the end of January, members, if they want to, can carry on this strike until the summer of 2026.
“We will carry on assembling at that picket line every morning. We will carry on fighting for fair pay until victory is secured.
“We are not just fighting for fair pay. We are fighting for the very survival of the museum.”
Notes:
– The strike began on 20 August and is currently scheduled to run until the end of January 2026 unless there is a resolution.
– The outcome of the reballot is expected in January 2026.
– A petition calling for the chief executive and board of trustees to step down has over 3,000 signatures.
– 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.
