SaveJobsAtDPG

Thank you for your concerns and questions regarding the proposed restructuring of the front-of-house team at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Given the stage we have reached in the consultation process, the gallery is currently preventing us from disclosing any more information than we already have. However, we will try to clarify our stance on the matter and the reasons why we have decided to bring this issue to the knowledge of the public. There are currently 36 members of the visitor services team; senior management proposes to make up to 19 of these members of staff redundant. Those retaining their positions will be asked to sign wholly new contracts (annualised hours contracts), facing significant and adverse changes to their current terms and conditions. This is an extract concerning annual hours contracts from the ACAS website : ?Under most annual hours systems, overtime is removed and consolidated into basic pay. Employees may be required to work extra hours at short notice, which may disrupt planned leisure time, and be expected to work longer hours seasonally, including through the summer.? http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4288 We are not permitted to divulge the exact details of the particular annualised hour contracts proposed by Dulwich Picture Gallery, and therefore cannot make public exactly how detrimental these contracts will be to us and the visitors. We would invite DPG to make public the exact proposals if they feel they can stand over the new contracts as ?fair and equitable.? The annualised hours contracts have been proposed by senior management without any consideration being given to the personal situation of current staff (ie. older staff who cannot work for long hours, staff with childcare and domestic responsibilities, those in education etc). The new contracts will result in a deleterious impact on staff's everyday life and will bring about a significant power imbalance in favour of the employer. The proposed changes will likewise be detrimental to the visitors' experience and the general running of the front-of-house. With the proposed reduction in staff numbers, the day-to-day running of the gallery will become problematic and will result in poor visitor service. It will also be directly detrimental to other departments of the gallery (such as Education) as gallery assistants provide an essential link with their target audience. We can say with confidence that the new terms and conditions will result in a high turnover of staff. The nature of the proposed contracts is not suitable for a stable life-style. With high turnover of staff, the knowledge which comes with years of experience in a gallery environment will be lost. Unfortunately, this will, again, directly affect the visitor's experience. We welcome equitable contracts and would like zero-hour employees to be offered full or part-time contracts wherever desired. However, the current proposal would strip overtime rates from those presently entitled to them and would, as a result, reduce their overall annual earnings. With the introduction of an apprenticeship scheme, two well-trained, knowledgeable and experienced staff would lose their livelihoods. Surely, if there was such a demand for new recruits in the cultural sector, 19 people would not be at risk of losing their jobs. We also feel this entire situation could have been avoided if management simply listened to their Gallery Assistant team over a year ago and attempted to fairly resolve their problems with unequal pay and conditions in the workplace. Instead of resolving two-tiered pay scale issues, which resulted in event staffing difficulties, management ignored our concerns when we first raised the issue. Now they propose a new three-tier system of annualised hours staff, apprentices and casual staff with different pay and conditions. This does not address existing discrepancies between contracts in a fair and equitable manner. We would not be opposing the proposal, if it represented a genuine rise in employment conditions. Bearing in mind that the majority of us are already on zero-hour contracts, with minimal benefits and employment rights, our objections should give some indication of how alarming the proposed terms and conditions are. Having learnt the full implications of this proposal, we are now opposing not only the redundancies, but the proposal in its entirety: We will not work at the gallery under the proposed terms. We care passionately about the gallery and our visitors and encourage you to keep visiting. Our team is still here for now, protecting the paintings and ready to engage with you to make your visit as pleasant and interesting as possible. We are a team with a wealth of knowledge and experience, each one of us bringing something unique to the table. Come visit the gallery and have a chat with us. We look forward to welcoming you there. Show your support for us by signing the online petition https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-staff-cuts-at-the-dulwich-picture-gallery or the hard copy held at Shepherd?s and Gail?s in Dulwich Village. Come to the protest organised by our friends and supporters at 1pm on February 7th and make some noise at the gallery gates.