National Museum Security Guards (UVW) Strike Calendar
Strike Type: Other
Latest National Museum Security Guards Industrial Action Updates (2)
Outsourced security guards at the Victoria and Albert and Science museums are set to ballot for strike action because their employer has refused to negotiate demands for better compensation and working conditions.
The ballot occurs one year after significant industrial action at the institutions, prompting frustration over the contractor's unwillingness to improve terms following years of low pay.
Workers are seeking a base rate of £15 per hour, along with enhanced allowances for specialized duties, better overtime, full sick pay from day one, and improved leave entitlements.
Indignation is also high regarding the dismissal of three long-serving Duty Security Managers, including one with 17 years of service, who were informed their roles were redundant and escorted off-site on the same day.
The dismissed employees have initiated urgent legal action seeking interim relief, arguing their dismissals were unfair and linked to their union activities.
They claim the redundancy process was rushed, lacked consultation, and that newly advertised, lower-paid roles were advertised before discussions took place.
One of the legally challenged dismissals also involves a claim of disability discrimination concerning proposed role changes.
The action follows a previous dispute that resulted in a pay increase and trade union recognition after extensive industrial action.
Security guards from London’s Science Museum, Natural History Museum (NHM) and Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) are planning a day of coordinated strike action to coincide with the start of the Christmas holidays.
The museum workers’ demands include a pay rise to £16 an hour, sick pay from day one, and an additional week of annual leave. They say their sick pay and annual leave demands are already allocated to thousands of workers directly employed by the museums and are what security teams used to receive before they were outsourced in 2011.
National Museum Security Guards Strike Calendar
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