Visitors and front-line operations face disruption after members of the Public and Commercial Services union at three Victoria and Albert sites in London announced strike action in early September. PCS said members at V&A East Storehouse, V&A East and Young V&A will walk out on 4 and 5 September. It added that from 4 September PCS members at all sites will work to rule and withdraw cooperation in coordinated action with Prospect.
The union said the ballot that authorised the action recorded 95% in favour, though it did not publish the number of staff involved. PCS framed the dispute around pay, health and safety, and working conditions. The union wants better pay, a cross-site policy to close public spaces when temperatures reach 30C, and measures to allow staff at the East Storehouse to drink and carry water while on duty.
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of PCS, said members had given the V&A "every opportunity" to resolve the dispute through negotiation and urged managers that, if they wanted to avoid further disruption, they needed to get around the table with PCS "and start negotiating seriously".
The V&A said it had been negotiating with unions since February and believed it had met the majority of their demands with an improved offer. It told staff its latest pay proposal would deliver a pay rise above inflation, with an average 4.2% pay rise and a 6.9% increase for its lowest-paid colleagues, and reaffirmed a commitment to paying at least the London Living Wage. The museum also said staff receive regular breaks, V&A East Storehouse has drinking fountains on each floor and an air-cooling system, and that extensive heatwave mitigation has been implemented across its sites.
PCS has not published the scale of the walkouts beyond the ballot result. The unions and the museum are now positioned for further talks, while visitors are advised to check museum websites for updates on possible disruption to openings and services.
