Glasgow Life to shed 300 posts in aim to save £10m
Cuts at culture trust will affect museum service
Glasgow Life plans to make 300 posts redundant over a two-year period to save £10.2m over three years.
The trust runs museums, libraries and sport centres for the city council. It has about 3,500 employees, including about 650 museum staff.
“Museums don’t exist as a separate entity, so they will be affected, but not disproportionately,” said a spokesman for Glasgow Life.
He added that no facilities would close during the cost-cutting exercise. “We will be looking to increase flexibility among the workforce and at ways of increasing income as part of the savings.”
Brian Smith, Glasgow branch secretary of the Unison union, said: “We are concerned about how the council plans to raise this so-called extra income.” He warned that industrial action would take place if any of the job losses were made through compulsory redundancies.
Discussions between Unison representatives and Glasgow Life officials were set to take place as Museums Journal went to press.
John Stewart-Young, former arts and heritage manager at Dundee City Council, said: “It is clear that making such large numbers redundant in Glasgow would affect the whole sector in Scotland, as where Glasgow leads, others often follow.”
Maurice Davies, head of policy and communication at the Museums Association, also struck a note of caution.
“Any museum considering moving to trust status should ensure it has a good degree of financial certainty,” he said.
“Some charitable trusts should be relatively protected from cuts, as they have long-term funding agreements with their local authority for perhaps five years. It is clearly very risky to have only an annual funding agreement [as is the case for Glasgow Life].”
Meanwhile, South Lanarkshire council will decide this month whether to shut the Hunter House and John Hastie museums.
“The museums are open only at weekends and have a small number of visitors,” said Norrie Anderson, the council’s executive director (community resources).
“Our intention is to show all the items held at these museums in other locations across the authority, which will allow all the people of South Lanarkshire to see them.”
| See vox pop, p21
The trust runs museums, libraries and sport centres for the city council. It has about 3,500 employees, including about 650 museum staff.
“Museums don’t exist as a separate entity, so they will be affected, but not disproportionately,” said a spokesman for Glasgow Life.
He added that no facilities would close during the cost-cutting exercise. “We will be looking to increase flexibility among the workforce and at ways of increasing income as part of the savings.”
Brian Smith, Glasgow branch secretary of the Unison union, said: “We are concerned about how the council plans to raise this so-called extra income.” He warned that industrial action would take place if any of the job losses were made through compulsory redundancies.
Discussions between Unison representatives and Glasgow Life officials were set to take place as Museums Journal went to press.
John Stewart-Young, former arts and heritage manager at Dundee City Council, said: “It is clear that making such large numbers redundant in Glasgow would affect the whole sector in Scotland, as where Glasgow leads, others often follow.”
Maurice Davies, head of policy and communication at the Museums Association, also struck a note of caution.
“Any museum considering moving to trust status should ensure it has a good degree of financial certainty,” he said.
“Some charitable trusts should be relatively protected from cuts, as they have long-term funding agreements with their local authority for perhaps five years. It is clearly very risky to have only an annual funding agreement [as is the case for Glasgow Life].”
Meanwhile, South Lanarkshire council will decide this month whether to shut the Hunter House and John Hastie museums.
“The museums are open only at weekends and have a small number of visitors,” said Norrie Anderson, the council’s executive director (community resources).
“Our intention is to show all the items held at these museums in other locations across the authority, which will allow all the people of South Lanarkshire to see them.”
| See vox pop, p21