Employees at some sites run by the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum charity will take strike action next week as part of a dispute over pay and concerns about working conditions.
Workers at the V&A Storehouse, V&A East and Young V&A will walk out on 4 and 5 September, but those at the main site in South Kensington will not take part.
However, union members across all V&A sites will take other industrial action including a ban on overtime, work to rule and withdrawal of cooperation from 4 September.
The industrial action follows hundreds of V&A employees who are members of the PCS and Prospect unions recently voting for industrial action.
Unions have urged the charity to become an accredited London living wage employer and offer time-and-a-half pay to staff on bank holidays.
They have also expressed concerns about working conditions during heatwaves and access to water at the V&A Storehouse.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said its members had “been left with no choice but to take strike action”.
“The message to the V&A is clear: our members will not stand by while their concerns are ignored. If management wants to avoid further disruption, it needs to get around the table with PCS and start negotiating seriously,” said Heathcote.
V&A ‘can still avoid’ strikes
In a separate dispute with V&A, Prospect recently won paid breaks for collections workers at V&A Storehouse.
On the strikes, Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said: “We have participated in Acas talks to try and resolve the dispute but we need a credible, improved offer to take to our members. That has not been forthcoming.”
He added: “The V&A can still avoid this strike, but it needs actual effort to meet our terms and for senior management to demonstrate that they are serious about wanting to find a solution to this dispute.”
A V&A spokesperson said they deeply regretted the strike action and that the charity had been negotiating with the unions since February and had met most of their demands with a “significantly improved offer, which we believe is fair”.
“Our latest pay offer delivers a pay rise well above inflation for all staff, with an average 4.2% pay rise and a 6.9% increase for our lowest-paid colleagues,” they said.
While it is not an accredited real living wage employer, the V&A said it has a longstanding commitment to paying at least the London Living Wage.
“All our staff have regular breaks, and access to drinking fountains on each floor is provided at V&A East Storehouse, which has an air-cooling system,” they added.
“Extensive heatwave mitigation has also been put in place across our museums.”
