National Galleries of Scotland staff have "reluctantly" accepted a performance-related pay scheme, following a year of negotiations. Employees have agreed a three-year deal worth 5.5 per cent, backdated to August 2008, when talks began.
But the exact nature of the performance element is still to be defined. Malcolm Currie, negotiations officer for the union Prospect, which represents most of the staff, said they had initially rejected performance-related pay.
"We managed to get some concessions when we went back to the table, which meant we believed we could not proceed towards industrial action," he said.
The agreement means a 2.2 per cent rise was paid in August, with another 2.17 per cent due in August 2010. An appraisal system is being drawn up, but Currie said staff were unhappy due to the likelihood of a government cap on differentials in performance pay.
"My concern is that there will be no differential between pay, so performance-related pay actually becomes a disincentive," he said.
Meanwhile, curatorial and specialist staff at the Science Museum are in dispute over new contracts. A spokesman for Prospect's London office said talks were ongoing "in a reasonably positive atmosphere".
"The museum is seeking to put new staff and those promoted internally on to the inferior terms and conditions of its trading arm," he said. He claimed these included lower pay and less leave.
A Science Museum spokeswoman said it faced funding cuts. "In anticipation, we are hiring staff only on short-term or commercial contracts," she said. The two sides will meet on 15 December.
The National Gallery is also in talks with staff over pay awards and progression scales. A spokeswoman said talks had begun with the three relevant unions.
