Some of York's biggest tourist attractions could be shut down by strike action during the key August Bank Holiday, a union leader warned today.

Staff from the Castle Museum, Yorkshire Museum, York Story and City Art Gallery are set to hold a strike ballot over council plans to cut their pay.

Scores of attendants, kiosk and shop staff and administrative workers are expected to attend a mass meeting at the Guildhall tonightto discuss the City of York Council proposals, which have been drawn up to help tackle a growing financial crisis.

Peter Household, general convenor for the York city branch of the UNISON union, expects staff to press tonight for a ballot on industrial action, and claimed a "yes" vote could shut the museums down by the August Bank Holiday.

Mr Household claimed the council had recently come up with a "derisory and contemptible" offer to staff, under which some due to lose £1,500 through the pay cut proposals would get £500 back.

Charlie Croft, acting head of leisure services, said he had not yet been informed of the union's position and was due to meet UNISON representatives tomorrow.

He felt that talk of strikes was premature at this stage, and he hoped such action could be averted. He confirmed that an offer had been made to compensate staff for loss of pay.

The council wants to stop paying enhanced rates of pay for working at weekends, and cut attendants' working hours at the beginning and end of the day. Up to 80 staff at the four complexes are affected.

The plans have been drawn up to help tackle a financial crisis caused primarily by falling museum attendances. A letter to staff, leaked to the Evening Press last month, revealed that more than £1 million had been siphoned from a development fund over four years to support the revenue budget, and the fund was set to run out in the next financial year unless action was taken.

Mr Croft said then that preserving the status quo without any pay cuts was not possible.

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