Prospect, a union for professionals, has released a new report this week detailing the effects which government cuts have had on work in the heritage sector, following on from a survey of all their members in this Sector.
The report includes opinions, summaries and quotations on the impact of heritage cuts including:
- impact on professional development, research and collections care
- impact on careers in the heritage sector
- impact on volunteers and interns
- impact on strategic decisions
- summaries on the affects on key heritage organisations and institutions such as such as English Heritage, RCAHMS, The Imperial War Museum, English Heritage and The National Trust
The report includes:
How austerity is hurting
• It affects recruitment and retention of key skills into heritage areas.
• Many arts and heritage-based organisations have closed or are under threat.
• Many institutions’ services and programmes have been reduced.
• Increased charges and hidden costs are being introduced to keep budgets going.
• Concern is rising about the future cost of austerity on the skills, work and reputation of heritage organisations
• Skilled and experienced staff are being lost.
• People are leaving it too late to be concerned about the impact.
• Job reductions are affecting the provision of services.
• Pay has stagnated, affecting staff morale.
The importance of a healthy sector
• Every £1 invested brings back between £4-£6.
• One study for the British Library by Oxford Economics found that £1 invested delivers £5 in value back to society.
• 2.5m people are employed in creative industries.
• They are directly responsible for at least £865m of spending by tourists.
• A healthy sector has a positive impact on health and wellbeing – those who visit museums are 20 per cent more likely to report good health.
The report also carries summaries on some key heritage organisations from representatives including:
English Heritage
… the organisation has faced almost perpetual reorganisations leading to a loss of experience and expertise. We are trying to do too much with dwindling resources and many staff are experiencing role creep, affecting morale and job satisfaction and increasing stress. ?Wages are stagnating in the face of a rising cost of living…
The National Trust
… Employees feel caught in a poverty trap because pay increases are lower than inflation and there aren’t many jobs to go to. Our view is that the Trust is changing, moving from a paternalist organisation to a more hard-nosed enterprise. However, this is positive as it brings opportunities for us as a union to have greater influence….
RCAHMS
… Departing staff have not been replaced and those remaining have been reassigned additional duties, all too often on top of capacity workloads. Further, these cuts have restricted training and opportunities for continuous professional development, leaving career paths static with little or no hope of promotion….
