A world-famous masterpiece by Salvador Dali should be sold by Scotland’s largest council to help fund a ￡500 million equal pay deal, a trade union leader has demanded.
Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB, said that Glasgow City Council should be prepared to sell Christ of Saint John of the Cross and give the revenue generated to women denied a fair wage.
He said that the union would not allow “hard-pressed workers” to cover the costs of the council’s discriminatory policies during “a cost-of-living crisis.”
Christ of Saint John of the Cross was painted by the Spanish Surrealist in 1951 and is the star attraction of the city’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Dr Tom Honeyman, the director at the time, bought the painting for ￡8,200 in 1952 after negotiating directly with Dali and his agent. It has since become one of the best-loved works in the gallery’s collections and is valued at roughly ￡60 million.
However, the council agreed an equal pay deal worth about ￡500 million in 2019 for thousands of predominantly female workers, with the average payout expected to be about ￡35,000.
A pay grading scheme has still not been introduced and unions claim discrimination remains in place. The GMB warned the outstanding bill will be huge and the union’s members have been balloted for strike action.
Mr Smith told the Daily Record: “said: “If the council really thinks it can fix this [dispute] alone then it had better start making plans to flog the Dali because there is no way this discrimination is going to be paid for off the back of hard-pressed workers in a cost-of-living crisis.”
Glasgow City Council insiders said they would not be “joining in with people just making up figures” and they would be “very surprised” if a better plan to raise the necessary funds could not be produced.
A spokesman said: “We’re negotiating with trade unions and others representing claimants. We will only know the cost of settling claims once we have a deal – and that will determine any financial strategy.”