Scrap planned pension changes, say museum staff

Museum staff have called on the board which runs the attraction to scrap proposed changes to their pensions.

Dozens of staff at Beamish Museum in County Durham have signed a petition calling on bosses to ditch plans to cut pension payments, according to the union Unison.

The union's northern regional secretary Paul Foy said some of staff had worked at the site for decades and should not face losing "thousands of pounds" through the changes.

The museum said its priority was to ensure the long-term sustainability of the site and staff, but Unison said the Beamish was looking to pull about 88 staff out of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

It said the museum had about 500 staff and the majority of those in the LGPS had been with the organisation for years.

The union said forcing individuals off the scheme would result in people losing several thousand pounds.

Beamish said it was currently consulting over the proposals and a spokesperson claimed: "Our focus during the consultation is in supporting our employees and communicating with them directly."

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.