Strike action by workers at the National Coal Mining Museum in a dispute over wages could be extended until next summer, a union has said.
Members of Unison at the museum in Wakefield began their industrial action calling for higher pay on 20 August and the strike is currently due to last until 28 January, but the union said its members would be balloted on Friday over continuing the action beyond then.
Rianne Hooley, Unison regional organiser, said members would “carry on fighting for fair pay until victory is secured”.
A statement previously issued by the museum stated that its management had “remained open to negotiation and has made multiple offers, none of which have been accepted”.
Unison has said many of its members at the museum currently earned about £12.60 an hour.
Previous pay offers have been rejected by the union over concerns staff would be worse off than under an earlier proposal which was thrown out.
The union has blamed the “ongoing refusal” by the museum’s management to improve its offer and “backtracking on earlier promises” for the continued action.
Ms Hooley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “If we don’t get a settlement before this strike mandate ends at the end of January, our members, if they want to, can carry on on strike until the summer of 2026.
“We will carry on assembling at that picket line every morning. We will carry on fighting for fair pay until victory is secured.”
Ms Hooley said that among those taking action at the museum were members who participated in the miners’ strike of 1984-85.
“Our members have a long history, a proud legacy of defiance”, she said.
“They will not accept injustice, they will not accept unfairness and we are going to carry on this strike.
“We are not just fighting for fair pay, we are fighting for the very survival of that museum.
“No compromise has been offered to our members. This union is going to support this strike for as long as it takes.”
A statement previously issued by the museum said the charity running the site was “disappointed” by the rejections.
“The charity has compromised and offered a settlement which would give the craftspeople within the mining team exactly the uplift which Unison have demanded and supports the vision of a staffing structure comparable with other organisations, which Unison have quoted as desirable.
“Throughout this process, the museum has remained open to negotiation and has made multiple offers, none of which have been accepted.”
In September, Wakefield Council voted to withhold funding from the museum until the dispute was resolved.
At the time, council leader Denise Jeffery has called for trustees to “step aside” and let “someone else take over” negotiations.
