Following a motion that passed at our last General Meeting, today we wrote to Susan Deighan, Glasgow Life Chief Executive, Councillor Annette Christie, Chair of Glasgow Life and Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council to condemn cuts to museums across Glasgow, and planned redundancies. 

We stand with colleagues at UNISON against these cuts.

You can read our letter below:

Dear Susan, Annette and Susan,  

We, the University and College Union branch based at the University of Glasgow, are deeply concerned that a significant amount of Glasgow Museums staff are threatened with redundancies. These redundancies target key roles such as curators, conservators, technicians, learning assistants and collections staff. This is extremely short sighted and destructive and will involve a significant loss of expertise to venues and communities int the city. 

The cuts will impact staff who are integral to the success of world class and award-winning venues in the city such as Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery and the Burrell Collection. 

The cuts will also have a very significant impact on innovative roles that Glasgow Museums play, which are very significant in relation to issues of social and cultural inclusion in the city such as the Open Museums service. These projects and staff have also been central to significant forms of engagement with diverse populations in the city, e.g. recent work with the Bangladesh Association Glasgow on the histories of South Asian seafarers in the city. 

Glasgow Museums staff have also been integral to significant collaborative work with staff in the University of Glasgow, for example through projects such as Banner Tales which used an engagement with Glasgow Museums’ collection of banners of trade unions and political campaigns to explore key aspects of Glasgow’s history of labour and community organising. These cuts would really impact on the capacity of important collaborative work like this – which are beneficial to both institutions. 

We therefore call on you to reverse these cuts, and work together with staff to prevent any redundancies. 

Bes wishes,  

UCU Glasgow Branch