Workers at the V&A have voted decisively to strike after complaining of being denied adequate toilet and hydration breaks. Staff at London’s newest site, the V&A Storehouse in Stratford, claim they are treated worse than colleagues at other locations and are given only one break, despite long periods of manual labour. The dispute primarily involves “Collections Access” workers who facilitate the “order an object service”, which gives the public access to the museum’s collection. They will join workers across three other V&A locations in the capital as part of a wider dispute over pay and working conditions.
Union Demands and Strike Vote
In addition to two paid 15-minute breaks, the trade union Prospect is calling for a minimum 4% wage increase for staff earning above the living wage and time-and-a-half pay for bank holidays. The union has also called for the V&A to become an accredited London Living Wage employer within the next year and to improve food provisions for staff. At the Storehouse location, 100% of those voting backed strike action on a turnout of nearly 88%. Across the four locations, 83% voted for strike action on an 82% turnout. Timing of the industrial action has yet to be decided.
Separate Ballot and Worker Concerns
The vote is separate from a ballot arranged by the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which is set to close on August 20. The PCS union is also calling for better pay, hydration breaks, and a policy of closing museum doors when temperatures exceed 30C. Members at Prospect told the Guardian that “breaks are a welfare issue.” One member said: “The Storehouse is purpose-built for storing objects, but they haven’t really thought about the human aspect – how far we have to travel around the building or where the bathrooms are. We’ve experienced a lot of dehydration, and sometimes people don’t even go to the bathroom for the whole day.”
Another member added that someone has a headache every day due to dehydration. “We are the newest department at the V&A. We are the most diverse back-of-house department. It’s not lost on us that we were hired to represent the east London community, but our welfare is being neglected,” they said.
Union and Museum Responses
Mike Clancy, Prospect’s general secretary, said: “This incredible new way of showing off our heritage is being delivered by workers who are denied adequate break time to use the toilet or have a drink of water. Visitors will be appalled to learn that the kinds of working practices unions campaign against in companies like Amazon also exist in an internationally renowned heritage institution.”
In a statement to The Standard, the V&A said: “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 long-standing 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 eleven days during the peak of the heatwave. To ensure the safety and security of national collections, during visits to V&A East Storehouse, food and drink are not permitted for visitors or staff.”
