London Museum staff plan one-day strike over pay

Workers at the London Museum are to strike for one day over the February half-term break in a dispute over pay.

Members of the Prospect union will walk out on 19 February. Action short of a strike, including an overtime ban, will start the following day and will be continuous.

The museum's Barbican site has been closed permanently while work is under way to open at a new site at the Smithfield Market later this year. The strike action will, however, impact those intending to visit the London Museum Docklands in Canary Wharf.

Prospect said its members were "left with no choice" while the museum said it had proposed as large a pay award "as possible".

Steve Thomas, deputy general secretary of Prospect, said: "Our members have worked tirelessly for the museum and on the new flagship site but they have been left with no option but to take this action."

The action short of striking will also involve staff refusing to do any voluntary duties.

A spokesperson for London Museum said: "We've carefully managed our finances this year so we could pay as large an award as possible to our staff.

"As a proud London Living Wage employer, this prioritised lower paid staff who received on average an overall increase of 5.5%, whilst senior staff received on average 2.6%."

They said they have prioritised the "long-term care of our staff" along with a "sustainable financial solution".

The spokesperson added the London Museum would continue to engage in negotiations.

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