Royal Society of Arts staff set for two-day strike

Staff at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking strike action for the first time in the organisation’s history.

The action will take place on Tuesday 19 and Thursday 21 September, after 93% of union members voted in favour on a turnout of 79%.

Union members were balloted for strike action following a below-inflation pay offer.

One member of staff told The Observer management refused to negotiate from an offer of £1,000 for all staff following five rounds of discussions.

They added negotiations had been “totally dismissive, anti-democratic and hypocritical”.

RSA’s impact report for 2022/23 shows money spent on the leadership team’s total remuneration package increased by 170%, from £359,000 to £976,000. Its reserves currently stand at £32m.

Confirming the action on Twitter/X, RSA Union said the strike “is easily avoidable if management return to the table with an improved offer that would cost them less than 3% of unrestricted reserves”.

Founded in 1754, the London-based charity became joint-hosts of the Creative Policy and Evidence Centre earlier this year.

Ahead of the ballot result, RSA released a statement claiming its reserves are not available to cover operating costs including staff salaries.

It adds the charity is committed to a review of staff pay in September following reforecasting income and expenditure and rebuked the claim executives have seen a 170% increase in pay, stating the rise was down to filling vacancies and the CEO returning from a secondment.