Protest over claims firm has reneged on living wage pledge for gallery staff

Staffers charge that the National Gallery’s private, for-profit contractor is not honoring an agreement to pay a living wage. “Members of the Public and Commercial Services union working in the London gallery's visitor services staged a series of strikes in protest at the privatization of their jobs. The union claimed that more than a year after taking over the contract, private firm Securitas has ‘reneged’ on a pledge over the London living wage and is creating a two-tier workforce by ‘driving down’ pay and conditions. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ‘The only thing Securitas is living up to is our prediction about what this sell-off would mean. It is outrageous that more than a year on, the company is refusing to honour its commitment on the living wage, and is creating a two-tier workforce and driving down pay and conditions.”