NPG - Minutes of Whitley Council Meetings

The purpose of the Whitley Council Meetings is to discuss employment matters including training and development as well as an overview of forthcoming Gallery initiatives.

Meetings are usually held twice a year and are attended by the Director, the Head of Resources, the Head of Personnel, the Head of Visitor Services and Security, and representatives of the unions recognised by the Gallery (PCS, FDA and Prospect) and the Staff Association.

There are no minutes for meetings held in 1979, 1991-1992, 1996, 1997 or 2002, and only one meeting was held in 2006. All meetings are minuted. Minutes and agendas are included for each meeting, and occasionally related discussion papers.

The precise date of the first Whitley Council meetings at the Gallery is unknown, but records held in the archive date from 1972.

Across the public service sector a 'Whitley Council' is the generic name for meetings between management and union representatives, in order to promote good working relationships. They are named after politician J H Whitley, who proposed a series of meetings between workers and employers in 1917, to help to combat poor industrial relations.

Available to view by appointment in the Heinz Archive and Library Public Study Room, to make an appointment contact Archive Reception . Although records are generally available for public consultation, some information in them, such as personal data or information supplied to the Gallery in confidence, may be restricted.

The complete catalogue for this archive can be searched via the NPG Archive Catalogue .

Personal photography is permitted for research purposes only. Photocopying is not permitted.