V&A Workers Set to Strike Despite Hydration Break Concession

Workers at the V&A are still set to strike over pay and working conditions despite the museum conceding to demands for paid breaks at its new East Storehouse.

Collections access officers at the east London facility voted unanimously for strike action last month after the Prospect union said their working pattern made it difficult to drink water or use the toilet during shifts. The union had called for two paid 15-minute breaks a day, in line with arrangements for other V&A staff.

PCS, a second union representing V&A workers, has also raised concerns about conditions during heatwaves. It said staff at the Storehouse were unable to carry or drink water while working in collections areas and cited one employee who said they had repeatedly become dehydrated at work.

In a statement reported by Museums Journal, the V&A said staff had always had access to water, toilets and regular breaks, with drinking fountains on every floor of the Storehouse. Food and drink are prohibited in its main Collections Hall and storage areas to protect the collection. During recent hot weather, the museum said it introduced additional rest breaks and staff rotations, closed some galleries at V&A South Kensington and temporarily closed Young V&A.

On 7 August, less than two weeks after the strike vote, the V&A agreed to introduce the two paid breaks Prospect had requested. “This is a great result for our members but it really shouldn’t have taken the threat of strike action for V&A to grant this reasonable request,” Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy told Museums Journal.

Prospect members across the V&A have also backed industrial action over pay and conditions. The union is seeking a minimum four percent pay rise for staff earning above the Living Wage, time-and-a-half for bank holiday work and London Living Wage accreditation. The V&A says negotiations have been underway since February and its current offer includes a 3.6 percent increase to its overall pay bill, an above-inflation increase as a minimum and a 6.9 percent rise for its lowest-paid staff. The museum says it already pays at least the London Living Wage but is not accredited by the Living Wage Foundation.

PCS, which has separately raised concerns about heatwave conditions at the Storehouse, is also balloting members across the V&A’s London sites for strike action over pay, conditions and what the union describes as “dignity at work”. The ballot closes on 20 August.