A council spending squeeze has led to a cut in pay and hours for staff at Museums Sheffield resulting in savings of £85,000.
The move follows a 5 per cent reduction in the trust’s annual funding from Sheffield City Council. The council has asked the trust to find £170,000 in savings from 2010-11.
“Most staff have attended round-table discussions regarding alternatives to compulsory redundancies,” said Museums Sheffield chief executive Nick Dodd. “The outcome was a consensus of opinion that a reduction in hours was deemed preferable to compulsory redundancies as a way to work towards safeguarding service.
“As such, in accordance with HR guidelines, all core-funded, back-of-house staff, including curators and senior management, are now in a personal consultation process concerning the proposed reduction in hours from 37 to 36 per week [pro rata for part-time staff].”
The reduction in hours will equate to an approximate 2.7 per cent reduction in earnings. Four members of the 110-strong workforce have volunteered for redundancy.
The GMB and Unison trade unions were informed of the consultation process and raised no objections to the proposed reduction in hours as an effort to safeguard jobs, added a Museums Sheffield spokesman.
When asked if further savings would be made by reducing the number of exhibitions held at the trust’s four museums, Dodd said: “Exhibitions at Weston Park and the Graves Gallery are running longer and almost all exhibitions are now funded from grants for the purpose, such as those from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which has supported our Food Glorious Food show. This is coupled with a move towards exhibitions curated by Museums Sheffield.”
He pledged that no galleries would close as a result of the savings drive.