Industrial action at V&A Museum

That this House supports members of the Public and Commercial Services union employed across the Victoria and Albert Museum who are taking strike action for improvements to pay, health and safety, and meaningful trade union engagement; recognises that trade unions have been negotiating the 2026-27 pay award since February, but that no acceptable agreement has been reached; calls on the V&A to become an accredited London Living Wage employer to maintain London Living Wage protection for the lowest paid staff and extend it to outsourced workers, to meet the union’s modest pay demand of 4 per cent for staff above the lowest band and for fairer compensation for bank holiday working; is concerned that Visitor Assistants at V&A Storehouse are not allowed to carry or drink from water bottles while in position, despite staff at other V&A sites being allowed to do so, and calls on the employer to meaningfully engage on this and other serious health and safety issues including the failure to adopt consistent heatwave protections across all sites and providing adequate seating for staff; and further calls on Victoria and Albert Enterprises to renegotiate recognition and facilities agreements so that union representatives can engage constructively with management and urges the museum’s director, Tristram Hunt, to meet with the unions to resolve the damaging dispute.