V&A workers hold ballot to strike over pay and heatwave conditions

V&A East in Stratford officially opened in April, having been conceived as a legacy development for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area of east London. Photograph: PA Images/Alamy View image in fullscreen V&A East in Stratford officially opened in April, having been conceived as a legacy development for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area of east London. Photograph: PA Images/Alamy V&A workers hold ballot to strike over pay and heatwave conditions Union calls for museum to become accredited London living wage employer and let staff carry water during shifts Workers at one of the world’s leading art and design museums are balloting for “heatwave” strike action. The ballot at V&A is taking place because of concerns about soaring temperatures and access to drinking water, along with pay and conditions. More than 300 workers at four V&A sites in London – the museum in South Kensington, V&A East Museum and V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, and Young V&A in Bethnal Green – are taking part in the ballot. The V&A, founded in 1852 after the Great Exhibition , is described as “a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity”. Its mission is to “promote art and design for all”. View image in fullscreen V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, east London, a collections and research building, opened in May last year. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian The ballot has been launched during a summer of extraordinarily high temperatures and is thought to be one of the first to raise concerns about workplace conditions during a heatwave. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) launched the strike ballot on 23 July owing to “serious and unresolved concerns affecting staff across the museum”. While pay rates are an issue, with calls for a minimum 4% pay increase, the union has also raised concerns about heat exposure and access to drinking water. It is calling for management to implement a policy of closing public areas across all four sites when temperatures exceed 30C, introduce heat mitigation measures for back of house workers, and allow staff at V&A East Storehouse to carry and drink water while working in areas where exhibits are on display, rather than waiting for another worker to come and relieve them while they go for a drink. The union is also calling on V&A to become an accredited living wage employer in London. The current London living wage is £14.80 an hour . The V&A has confirmed that all its staff are paid at least this rate. However, some of the museum’s outsourced contractors are not in receipt of the living wage and V&A has not so far become an accredited living wage employer, although it says this will be reviewed later this year. V&A Dundee, which is not part of the strike ballot, is an accredited living wage employer. View image in fullscreen Part of the PCS complaint concerns access to drinking water during shifts at museum sites such as V&A East Storehouse (pictured). Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian Nick Marro, the cult