A photograph appears to show a janitor dusting the surface of a painting at the Canadian War Museum while another dusts the wall above the paintings. (Courtesy of museum employees)

Janitors at the Canadian War Museum have been filmed cleaning fragile paintings with commercial dusters and their fingers during a 2½-month strike by museum workers.

"They were using their fingers to clean the inside of the bottom frames," said Julie Leclair, one of the striking workers who witnessed the cleaning during a sit-in at the museum last Thursday. "To see that kind of disregard for the value of the artifacts and the potential of them was heartbreaking — it really was."

Leclair said that type of treatment could damage the artifacts and would never happen if many of the museums' expert staff were working.

Video of the incident posted on YouTube shows a man holding a duster, wiping the frames of several paintings with his hand. A still photograph appears to show a duster held by a woman actually touching one of the paintings, as a man dusts the wall above them.

"All that dust was falling on to the surface of the paintings," said Ann Rae, who also participated in the sit-in.

She added that normally, all the paintings would have been removed before the walls were cleaned.

Museum conservators clean the paintings using specialized techniques, not ordinary dusters used for walls and other furniture. However, the conservators are among the 420 workers at the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Museum of Civilization who have been on strike since Sept. 21.

The striking workers are represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Chantal Schryer, vice-president of public affairs for the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corp., said the affected paintings have been carefully examined and none were damaged in any way. She added that the janitors made a mistake and have been reprimanded.