V&A museum staff to vote on strike action over heatwave conditions and pay

V&A museum staff to vote on strike action over heatwave conditions and payWorkers are forbidden from drinking and carrying water, even during the heatwave

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Workers at the V&A are set to vote on strike action over soaring working conditions during heatwaves.

Concerns have been raised about scorching temperatures and access to drinking water, along with pay and working conditions at the four London locations.

More than 300 workers will now vote to decide on whether to pursue strike action ahead of what is set to be London’s fourth heatwave of the year.

The Public and Commercial Services Union launched the ballot of July 23, citing “serious and unresolved concerns affecting staff across the museum.”

Four sites in London - the South Kensington branch, the V&A East Museum, the V&A East Storehouse, and the Young V&A in Bethnal Green - are taking part in the ballot.

Between them, the sites attract more than 3.3million visitors a year.

Workers in Stratford have said they cannot carry water with themAFP/Getty

In addition to calls for a minimum 4% pay rise, the union has raised concerns about heat exposure and access to drinking water.

It is one of the first calls for improved working conditions amid a heatwave, it is believed.

The union is calling for public areas across all four locations to be shut when temperatures hit 30C or more, introducing heat mitigation measures for back of house workers, and allowing workers at V&A Storehouse to carry water in exhibit areas.

Currently, workers at the Stratford location must wait for another worker to relieve them from duty when they want to go for a drink.

One worker said: “A lack of convenient access to water has caused me to become dehydrated at work many times and in one instance caused me to faint on my way home from work.”

Another member of staff said their health and safety had been “at best an afterthought and at worst actively ignored.”

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The union is also calling on the V&A to become an accredited living wage employer in London. As it stands, only the branch in Dundee - which is not part of the strike ballot - is an accredited living wage employer.

The V&A has confirmed that all of its staff are paid at least £14.80 an hour, which is the current London living wage. However, some of the museum’s outsourced contactors are not in receipt of the living wage, according to the Guardian.

The museum is set to review whether it will become an accredited living wage employer later this year.

The museum will review becoming an accredited living wage employerNikolai Karaneschev/Wikimedia Commons

Nick Marro, the culture secretary at PCS, said: “PCS members at the V&A are balloting for strike action because enough is enough. Management refuses to let staff carry or drink water while they work, refuses to become a London living wage accredited employer.

“At the same time, it claims it cannot afford a decent pay rise for staff. This is an employer that is failing the very people who keep one of Britain’s most prestigious museums running. It’s unfair, it’s unsafe and our members are prepared to fight back.”

The ballot will close on July 29.

A spokesperson for the V&A told The Guardian: “The V&A has been in negotiations with the trade union side since February and those negotiations are ongoing. Our offer sees a 3.6% increase in the overall pay bill, an above-inflation pay award as a minimum and 6.9% increase for our lowest-paid colleagues. As always, we have maintained our longstanding commitment to paying at least the London living wage.

“The safety and wellbeing of our staff is of utmost importance to the V&A – all our staff have access to water and toilet facilities and regular breaks while at work. Extensive measures were implemented to support our staff during the heatwave, ranging from additional rest breaks, increasing staff rotations across gallery spaces, closing several galleries at V&A South Kensington and closing Young V&A altogether on 11 days during the peak of the heatwave.

“To ensure the safety and security of national collections, during Order an Object appointments at V&A East Storehouse, food and drink are not permitted and visitors are accompanied by V&A staff during their appointment.”