"Strike placard, Science Museum Group" [NMLH.2019.131]

Catalogue Number
NMLH.2019.131

Object Name
Placard

Title
Cotton On / We Want Fair Pay

Place
Manchester

People
Ian Blatchford; Science Museum Group; Science and Industry Museum

Events
Science Museum Group Strikes

Description
Placard from the picket line of the Science Museum Group strikes, August 2019, at the Science and Industry Museum (SIM), Manchester.


The placard is made from a template, printed by Prospect Union, with a blank space in the centre for a handwritten messae. This placard reads 'Cotton On ... We Want Fair Pay' referencing the cotton industry's role in Manchester and the importance to the museum.

Staff from the Science Museum Group across England went on strike multiple times during 2019 in response to poor and unequal pay. The action comes after the group’s directors refused to increase a below inflation 1.5% pay rise offered to more than 75% of staff this year. Prospect, the union representing striking Science Museum Group (SMG) staff, said a series a of below-inflation pay rises had left workers with a 13% real-terms pay cut since 2010. They also pointed out that the average salary among those picketing in London today was £23,000 – a rise of 1.6% between 2014 and 2018 – while the SMG director, Ian Blatchford, a bonus of between £20,000 and £25,000 last year.