Striking staff urge public to stay away from major London museums

Security guards working at three of the UK’s biggest museums have been in dispute with external contractor Wilson James over pay and conditions since September 2024.

Guards at the Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum are urging the public to stay away in support of planned strike action through 2025, with a full month of strike action planned for February.

Security guards from the Young V&A in Bethnal Green and V&A East in Stratford are thought to also be joining the campaign.

They want an increase in the basic rate of pay to £16 an hour, sick pay from day one and parity with directly employed museum staff, including more holiday and an annual bonus.

A spokesperson from Wilson James has said they are working to minimise disruption to visitors and that they will continue to deliver an ’excellent service’.

In response, the union supporting the action, the United Voices of the World (UVW), is urging the public to support its members by not visiting the museums while the strike is on.

The UVW, which represents low-paid, precarious, migrant and marginalised workers, said that nearly 100 of its members work as security guards at the three museums.

For the museum security guards, the UVW has demanded an hourly pay increase to keep pace with inflation, improved sick pay entitlement and an additional week of holiday. Wilson James has told the UVW it is not prepared to reopen pay discussions for 2025 and that its demands are unaffordable.

General secretary of the UVW, Petros Elia, said that his members received total pay rises of 1.2 per cent between 2019 and 2021. Elia said: “Wilson James pays huge sums to its executives and pays those at the bottom a pittance. We would urge the public not to go to the museums during strike days and donate towards our strike fund, so that workers are not forced to go back to work"

Wilson James, which made more than £7 million in profits in the year to 31st July 2023, argues its most recent increase in hourly pay to £13.15 is in line with the current London living wage.

The spokesperson added: “We’re committed to transparent negotiations. While we acknowledge the demands put forward by UVW, we’re seeking a resolution that balances fair pay with the need to remain financially responsible.

“As a recognised service provider by the Living Wage Foundation, we’ve been working to ensure that pay for our security colleagues has remained reflective of the circumstances.

“Our most recent negotiations with our recognised trade unions secured a minimum pay increase of 5 per cent and brought pay rates in line with the London living wage.”

All three museums referred requests for comment on the dispute to Wilson James.