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LONDON (AP) — Workers at Britain's National Gallery will be staging a five-day strike beginning next week in a dispute over whether some of its services should be run by an outside contractor.
Some 250 workers voted overwhelmingly to strike beginning Tuesday to protest the move. The museum expects to remain open throughout.
Mark Serwotka, the general-secretary of the union representing the workers, says the privatization plan risks "damaging the worldwide reputation of what is one of the U.K.'s greatest cultural assets." But National Gallery director Nicholas Penny said in a statement Wednesday that change is necessary to thrive with reduced public money.
The National Gallery is a major tourist attraction, with 6 million visitors annually. Located on Trafalgar Square, its collection includes such masterpieces as Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers."
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