[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/va-render.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
\n\tWorkers at the Victoria and Albert Museum\u2018s new V&A East Storehouse\u00a0have voted\u00a0unanimously to strike in a dispute over working conditions, just weeks after the East London facility became one of the museum world\u2019s most closely watched new cultural attractions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe ballot, organized by the\u00a0trade union Prospect, covers collections access officers who staff the museum\u2019s much-publicized \u201cOrder an Object\u201d program, which allows visitors to book appointments to view works from the V&A\u2019s collection. According to the union, 100 percent of members who voted backed strike action on a turnout of nearly 88 percent, while 92 percent also supported action short of a strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tProspect argues that collections access officers are not given enough time during the workday to use the restroom or drink water, and is calling for two paid breaks per shift. The union says employees elsewhere within the V&A already receive comparable breaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThe dispute extends beyond the Storehouse. Prospect said members across the V&A\u2019s London sites also voted in favor of industrial action over pay, working conditions, and the museum\u2019s refusal to seek\u00a0London Living Wage\u00a0accreditation. In that ballot, 83 percent backed strike action on an 82 percent turnout. The union is seeking a minimum 4 percent pay increase for staff earning above the Living Wage, time-and-a-half pay for bank holiday work, London Living Wage accreditation within a year, and improved food provision at V&A East.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tIn a statement to\u00a0ARTnews<\/em>, the V&A said negotiations with Prospect have been going on since February. The museum said its latest offer included a \u201c3.6 percent increase to the overall pay, an above-inflation pay award as a minimum, and a 6.9 percent increase for our lowest-paid colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe museum also rejected the union\u2019s characterization of conditions at the Storehouse.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe safety and wellbeing of our staff is of utmost importance to the V&A,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cAll our staff have access to water and toilet facilities and regular breaks while at work.\u201d The museum added that V&A East Storehouse has water fountains on every floor and noted that food and drink are prohibited inside the main collections hall and storage areas for both staff and visitors in order to protect the collection.<\/p>\n \n\tThe V&A said it also introduced additional measures during this month\u2019s heatwave, including extra rest breaks, increased staff rotations, the closure of several galleries at its South Kensington museum, and the temporary closure of Young V&A on eleven days during the hottest period.<\/p>\n \n\tProspect General Secretary Mike Clancy said visitors would be \u201cappalled\u201d to learn that workers were being denied adequate time for bathroom breaks and drinking water, comparing the alleged practices to those unions have criticized at Amazon. He argued that employees who make the museum\u2019s new Storehouse possible \u201cshould be treated in a manner befitting a National Museum.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe timing of any strike has not yet been announced.\u00a0The labor dispute is the latest workplace challenge for the V&A. Earlier this month,\u00a0ARTnews<\/em>\u00a0reported that the museum\u2019s former head of academic programs, Yuko Kikuchi,\u00a0resigned after alleging systemic racism\u00a0within the institution. The V&A denied the allegations and said it had taken steps to address concerns raised by students.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/va-east-storehouse-workers-strike-working-conditions-1234793985\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/va-render.jpg?w=1024″] Workers at the Victoria and Albert Museum\u2018s new V&A East Storehouse\u00a0have voted\u00a0unanimously to strike in a dispute over working conditions, just weeks after the East London facility became one of the museum world\u2019s most closely watched new cultural attractions.\u00a0 The ballot, organized by the\u00a0trade union Prospect, covers collections access officers who staff […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-2070950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2070950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070950\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2070950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2070950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2070950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}