29 September 2026
PCS and Prospect members rallying outside the main V&A site in South Kensington, London on 25 September. Photo Workers.
Workers at the Victoria & Albert Museum are putting the museum’s intransigent management under the spotlight. They demonstrated on 25 September in pursuit of their ongoing claims on wages and conditions.
An impressive and united contingent of curators and other staff mounted an eye-catching picket and rally on 25 September outside the world famous museum’s main South Kensington site.
Coordination
A ballot of members from the main unions, Prospect and the Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS) showed overwhelming support for rolling 48-hour strikes. The two unions agreed to coordinate their action.
Exposure to intense heat while working during the summer prompted demands for V&A management to take better care of staff. Limited concessions, such as hydration breaks, were agreed. But the main demand, for an improved pay offer, was not met.
Celebratory
Momentum gathered throughout September for action, to be continued indefinitely. The workers determination was evident. Their mood was celebratory and, to the music of Dolly Parton, they were joined in early September by strikers from the nearby Institute for Cancer Research at Imperial College (who recently won their own pay battle).
The intransigent attitude of V&A director Tristram Hunt and his team was criticised on many fronts. Management refused to pay the London Living Wage; refused to come to the bargaining table; refused to go to ACAS to find a solution for outstanding issues arising from extreme heat; and refused to set up meetings with staff at other V&A sites.
Refusal
In short, management refused to engage at all. Museum workers also accused management of massaging figures and exaggerating its mitigations to hot weather working. And amid a fraught atmosphere, the deputy director Tim Reeves had announced his departure.
The V&A was revealed as an outlier among museums and galleries – and other cultural organisations such as the Arts Council – by failing to register as an accredited London Living Wage employer.
Paying the LLW is hardly a radical concept. The unions want this applied to both directly employed and outsourced staff. They have taken their case to the Minister for Culture, Lisa Nandy.
‘Disrespect for the workers skills and dedication strengthened their resolve.’
The PCS Culture Group told Workers that disrespect for their skills and dedication had strengthened their resolve. Without them, there would be no V&A. They took pride in their profession, but were no longer willing to slave away to provide the directors with six-figure salaries, or be told it was “a fantastic year for the museum”, while being refused a modest 4 per cent increase.
Workers are losing patience with intransigent management. Nitrile gloves are use to handle delicate exhibits. Photo Workers.
Like workers in other areas, pay erosion has cut real wages – in their case by about 12 per cent. The average 3.25 per cent increase on offer did not cover the extortionate cost of renting in central London or the alternative expense of commuting. All while the museum is sitting on £72 million in reserve capital – enough, said one speaker, to fund a pay increase for over 140 years.
Determined
The V&A management was determined to show that the workforce was not indispensable. They took training to replace front-of-house staff at tills and scanning points on strike days. But the museum was not fully open: main entrance and all but the ground floor of the 5-storey museum (145 galleries) were shut.
These attempts to break the strikes have not dented the spirit of these young people. Their refreshingly original banners and placards told a story of rootedness in their historic workplace, and skill in interpreting and handling precious exhibits. One said “William Morris would be so mad at you” and another warned “The Nitrile Gloves are Off!”.
Difference
The Prospect general secretary, Mike Clancy, told the rally, “You will win this. The unions are you – you make the difference”. He said it shows what unions can do when they work together, “It's a disgrace to them [the management], and a tribute to you”.
Another speaker said, to applause, that in the unlikely event management held out, the next step would be to close the whole place down.