V&A strikers say their low pay is on display

On the V&A picket line in west London last weekend

Hundreds of workers at the V&A history and culture museums in London struck last week against wages so low that they resemble the historical artefacts they look after.

Over 70 members of the Prospect and PCS unions gathered on picket lines ­outside the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington last Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday, under blue skies, strikers danced, honked horns and waved placards along to pop hits while ­passing drivers honked their horns.

Despite their joyous appearance, PCS and Prospect union members are furious at bosses who pay ­themselves well but won’t budge on paying the London Living Wage to their employees.

Sir Tristram Hunt, ­director of the V&A, grabbed £180,000 last year, not including his £36,000 bonus. Deputy director Tim Reeve trousered £150,000, plus a £15,000 bonus.

Lead union negotiator Nat told Socialist Worker that Hunt had been impossible to negotiate with and had refused to engage with the strikers—despite ­passing them on the street on Friday’s picket line.

“He won’t even come to the table,” she said. “His office is right up there—he can hear us every day. And still we get ignored.”

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Last week’s strikes followed an earlier round at the beginning of the month.

Strikers are demanding a 6.9 percent pay rise for the lowest paid. In a recent offer, management accepted this but refused a demand for 4.2 percent for workers in the two bands above.

The unions say that ­workers’ real wages haven’t risen since 2008 and have decreased in real terms since the pandemic. As a result, many strikers said they work multiple jobs, with one saying they have a total of five.

In addition to low wages, workers are angry that the V&A refuses to allow paid breaks and lunches, which are the industry standard.

It also refuses to pay time and a half on bank holidays.

For safety purposes, many other museums and galleries subsidise taxi travel for those who must work late. But not the V&A.

“They’re a hostile employer,” striker Flora told Socialist Worker. “They target our reps, they aren’t willing to speak directly to union officials. And, they’re very reluctant to come back to the table.”

Despite being stonewalled, strikers are not deterred.

“We will definitely be ­carrying this forward. We had a huge mandate to come out,” she said. “I think we will only get stronger.” “

“We have iron in our souls now,” said Susan, a Prospect union rep.

“People are so angry that at any point management could’ve said, ‘Alright guys. Let’s try again. Let’s sit down and have a chat’. But they refused.”

Susan told Socialist Worker that the first strike in early September was also her own.

“I’ve always been very pro‑union, but very anti‑strike. I’ve always thought it was a ­complete failure if you found ­yourself in that position. But I ­underestimated the people we’re dealing with,” she said.

“This militancy is hard to come by—we’re museum workers—but we’ve been pushed.”