Business & Finance
Victoria and Albert Museum workers plan September strike over pay and conditions
Staff represented by the PCS union across three London museum sites are scheduled to strike on September 4 and 5.
The short version
- Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members at three London sites of the Victoria and Albert Museum plan to strike on September 4 and 5.
- Union demands include higher pay, permission for staff to carry water at the V&A East Storehouse, and a heatwave policy to close public spaces when temperatures hit 30C.
- The museum stated it offered an average 4.2% pay increase and addressed most demands, while providing access to drinking fountains and heat mitigations.
- PCS members plan to begin working to rule and withdrawing cooperation on September 4 alongside the Prospect trade union.
Key facts
- PCS union members voted 95% in favor of industrial action at the V&A East Storehouse, V&A East, and Young V&A sites.[BBC News]
- Starting September 4, PCS union members plan to work to rule and withdraw cooperation in coordination with the Prospect trade union.[BBC News]
- A V&A spokesperson stated that negotiations have ongoing since February and that the museum offered an average 4.2% pay raise, with a 6.9% increase for the lowest-paid staff.[BBC News]
- The PCS union is seeking a cross-site policy to close public spaces if temperatures reach 30C and permission for V&A East Storehouse workers to carry and drink water while at work.[BBC News]
What remains uncertain
- The exact number of workers participating in the strike action was not disclosed by the PCS union.[BBC News]
Sources
- V&A workers to strike over pay and conditionsBBC News - Entertainment & Arts