Jeremy Corbyn talks to striking Tate Modern staff during walkout over cuts and redundancies
- Jeremy Corbyn made an appearance at a Tate workers’ strike in London today
- Ex Labour leader spoke in front of a dozens-strong crowd in front of Tate Modern
- In July Tate Enterprises said they would axe 300 staff from its shops and cafes
- The strikers are making three demands, including that redundancies be halted while other staff are paid over £100,000
Jeremy Corbyn spoke to striking Tate staff in London today during a walkout over cuts and redundancies.
The former Labour leader was pictured today addressing a crowd of Tate staff who had gathered outside the Tate Modern Gallery in London’s Bankside.
The picket was organised to condemn the planned axing of 300 jobs after Tate announced it would be cutting staff numbers from its shops and cafes due to a sharp drop in visitors since the coronavirus outbreak.
On Twitter, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union – who represent workers at the galleries’ shops and cafes – thanked Corbyn for ‘showing solidarity’ with the workers.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks to staff on strike outside the Tate Modern gallery in London today
The announcement of the ‘difficult and painful decision’ came on 11 August in an email from Director of Tate Enterprises Maria Balshaw and chief operating officer Vicky Cheetham, The Guardian reported.
According to a ‘strike fund’ crowdfunding page set up by PCS, employees are demanding the planned redundancies be halted while other staff are being paid over £100,000 per year.
They were also demanding that 10 per cent of the £7million earmarked by the Government for the galleries was to be invested in saving job roles.
If the £7million in grants were not enough to protect the employees, the fundraiser added, Tate must join PCS to criticise the lack of financial support from the government.
This is the second time protesters gathered outside the Tate Modern since the planned job cuts were announced in July.
The PCS union previously described the cuts as unnecessary.
On Twitter, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union – who represent workers at the galleries’ shops and cafes – thanked Corbyn (pictured today) for ‘showing solidarity’ with the workers
Hamish Anderson and Carmel Allen, directors of Tate Enterprises, said in a statement last month: ‘Tate Enterprises has had to make the difficult decision that many businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors now face, to restructure its business because of the impact of the pandemic.
‘We have been supported by Tate Gallery with an allocation of £5 million from their reserves. However, this funding cannot meet the gap in income due to heavily reduced visitor numbers in the galleries.
‘We have worked hard and exhaustively to model as optimistically as we can for the future and to keep as many jobs as possible.
‘We regret that, following collective consultation, we will have to make 313 redundancies in Tate Enterprises Ltd.
‘The selection process across these roles will take place over the coming weeks.
‘It is with great sadness that we have been forced by the current circumstances to have to make these decisions.
‘We recognise how difficult this must be for our colleagues and aim to be as supportive as we can while still ensuring the future of the business.’