V&A resolves dispute over staff breaks at collections site

Collections access officers at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) East Storehouse in London have come to an agreement over working practices.

Members of the Prospect union at the site had voted to take strike action over V&A’s refusal to grant two paid breaks a day.

But on 7 August the V&A notified members that it was changing its policy and granting staff the requested breaks.

Prospect members are still set to strike over wider issues on pay, terms and conditions, with PCS union also balloting their members for strike action.

Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said: “This is a great result for our members but it really shouldn’t have taken the threat of strike action for V&A to grant this reasonable request.

“V&A spent multiple days defending the indefensible and eroding the trust of their own staff, it was only direct industrial pressure and negative media coverage that have forced this change of position.

“Management at the V&A can avoid further embarrassment and disruption by finally making progress on pay and conditions for staff and settling the remaining industrial dispute.

“Our members have shown that by determination and organisation they can take on the V&A and win. We’d also like to thank the many V&A customers and members of the public who have expressed their solidarity with our members in this dispute.”

A statement from the V&A said: “The V&A has been in negotiations with the trade union side since February and those negotiations are ongoing. Our offer sees a 3.6% increase in the overall pay bill, an above inflation pay award as a minimum, and 6.9% increase for our lowest paid colleagues. As always, we have maintained our long-standing commitment to paying at least the London Living Wage.

“The safety and wellbeing of our staff is of utmost importance to the V&A – all our staff have always had access to water and toilet facilities and regular breaks while at work. At V&A East Storehouse we have water fountains on every floor to ensure both staff and visitors in Front of House areas have access to drinking water throughout the building. To ensure the safety and security of national collections, during visits to V&A East Storehouse, food and drink are not permitted for visitors or staff in the main Collections Hall or storage areas.

“Extensive measures were implemented to support our staff during the heatwave, ranging from additional rest breaks, increasing staff rotations across gallery spaces, closing several galleries at V&A South Kensington and closing Young V&A during the peak of the heatwave.”

This summer has seen a number of national museums in disputes with their staff.

Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) is facing a strike after members of the Prospect union voted for industrial action and PCS union members working at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh have also begun strike action.

This story was updated on 11 August 2026 to add a comment from the V&A