V&A Museum staff vote on strike over heatwave and pay concerns

More than 300 workers at four London sites of the Victoria and Albert Museum – South Kensington, V&A East Museum, V&A East Storehouse in Stratford and Young V&A in Bethnal Green – have begun a ballot for strike action. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) launched the vote on 23 July, citing "serious and unresolved concerns" about soaring temperatures, lack of drinking water, heat‑exposure risks and pay. Staff are demanding a minimum 4% pay rise, heat‑mitigation measures such as closing public areas when temperatures exceed 30 °C, and permission to carry water while working in exhibition spaces.

PCS also wants the museum to become an accredited living‑wage employer in London. The V&A says all its staff receive at least the London living wage of £14.80 an hour, but some outsourced contractors do not. The only accredited living‑wage site, V&A Dundee, is not part of the ballot. Union culture secretary Nick Marro said, "PCS members at the V&A are balloting for strike action because enough is enough. Management refuses to…"