City of Culture is City of Cuts say Hull unions as they ballot for industrial action

Members of the GMB, Unite and Unison members voted unanimously in an indicative ballot after £150,000 cuts to the museums service in Hull.

Union representatives said the final straw was the news that Hull Truck Theatre had received £228,000 bail-outs in recent months.

A formal ballot will follow with action likely from the end of next month, starting with a one-day strike and “escalating from there”, according to Unison convenor Adrian Kennett.

Mr Kennett said: “We tried to negotiate and we got nowhere. The membership are really angry.

“The general feedback from the public is that they back us 100 per cent; they know it is unacceptable leading up to City of Culture that we are losing our offer and again it is the lowest paid who are being attacked.”

The move follows the furore over the council closing the popular Hands on History museum in Hull’s Old Town to passing visitors and keeping it open only for pre-booked groups.

The council has now decided to open the museum on alternate Saturday afternoons - but is slashing opening times at the floating Spurn Lightship. Access for researchers and other visitors to Hull’s History Centre has also been quietly reduced this week from six-day a week opening to Tuesday to Friday and the first and third Saturday of the month.

Unions say four part-time staff at the History Centre will lose four hours a week while five posts at Hands on History are being cut.

Council leader Steve Brady said that with over £100m coming out of the council’s budget something had to give. While other services were getting cut by 35 per cent, culture had been given no more than a five per cent cut.

He said: “It shows our commitment to culture.

“When you consider the amount that will be going on in 2017 we are still on course for a fantastic year.”