Unionized staff at all four London branches of the Victoria and Albert Museum will walk out on October 29 and 30 in an escalating row over pay and working conditions. The action, announced after negotiations stalled, centers on what workers describe as "Amazon-style" conditions at the newly opened V&A East Storehouse, where staff say they are denied even basic time for water and bathroom breaks.

The strikes follow two rounds of planned September walkouts at three V&A sites by the Prospect union's heritage division and the PCS union. The museum preemptively closed those three sites in response, calling it a difficult decision. Staff at the East Storehouse had already voted unanimously in July to strike, and Prospect says the museum rejected its request for two paid breaks a day. Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy accused director Tristram Hunt of refusing to negotiate, calling it evidence of the disdain in which he holds his staff.

The V&A rejects the characterization, insisting all staff have access to water, toilets and regular breaks while at work, and noting that no food or drink may be brought near the collection by staff or visitors alike. The museum says it has negotiated in good faith since February and that its offer meets the unions' original demands: an average 4.18 percent increase, 6.9 percent for the lowest-paid, plus a 50 percent uplift for bank-holiday work.

PCS counters that the dispute is far from settled. The union says most staff were offered a base increase of only 3.25 percent, that the museum is refusing to seek London Living Wage accreditation, and that several Storehouse workers have fainted under a ban on even sealed water bottles in the storage areas, where water fountains are said to be regularly out of order. PCS also claims food and drink have been served in the collections hall during private events, with empty beer bottles found the next day. Its demands include accreditation at the London living wage — estimated at £14.80 an hour — a minimum 4 percent raise for staff above that rate, time and a half on bank holidays, shade for outdoor workers at 30°C, and better back-of-house cooling.