V&A employees vote to strike over heat and wages

More than 300 employees of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London are taking part in a strike vote launched by the PCS union, which is protesting dangerous working conditions during heat waves and insufficient pay.

The vote was opened on July 23 by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which cited "serious and unresolved concerns" regarding staff. It concerns four London sites of the museum: the historic building in South Kensington, the V&A East Museum and the V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, and the Young V&A in Bethnal Green.

The issue of wages is at the heart of the dispute. The union is demanding a minimum 4% increase, while management's offer is for a 3,6% overall pay raise, with a 6,9% increase for the lowest-paid staff. The PCS is also demanding that the V&A become an accredited London Living Wage employer, guaranteeing £14,80 per hour. While management maintains that all its direct employees receive at least this amount, some outsourced contractors do not, and formal accreditation has not yet been granted.

The other aspect of the dispute concerns the heat. The union is demanding the closure of public spaces as soon as temperatures exceed 30°C, the introduction of thermal protection measures for staff working outside visitor areas, and the right for V&A East Storehouse staff to carry a water bottle during their working hours. Currently, staff assigned to the exhibition halls in this building must wait for a colleague to relieve them before they can drink water.

Nick Marro, PCS culture secretary, said: "Management refuses to allow staff to carry or drink water while at work, refuses to become an accredited London living wage employer. This is unfair, it's dangerous, and our members are ready to fight."

The V&A disputes this interpretation. A museum spokesperson stated that "the safety and well-being of staff are of paramount importance" and that measures had been taken during the heatwave: additional breaks, increased rotations in the galleries, the closure of several rooms in South Kensington, and the complete closure of the Young V&A for eleven days. Regarding the issue of water in the Storehouse, management cites the need to conserve the national collections, specifying that food and drinks are not permitted during "Order an Object" appointments.

The Prospect union is simultaneously conducting its own strike vote at the V&A for similar reasons, with voting closing on July 29. This movement is considered one of the first in Britain to explicitly list working conditions in extreme heat as grounds for striking.